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Michael Dunlop Young

The Rise of the Meritocracy (Classics in Organization and Management Series) 2nd Edition

by Michael Young (Author)

4.3 110 ratings

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Michael Young has christened the oligarchy of the future "Meritocracy." Indeed, the word is now part of the English language. It would appear that the formula: IQ+Effort=Merit may well constitute the basic belief of the ruling class in the twenty-first century. Projecting himself into the year 2034, the author of this sociological satire shows how present decisions and practices may remold our society.

It is widespread knowledge that it is insufficient to be somebody's nephew to obtain a responsible post in business, government, teaching, or science. Experts in education and selection apply scientific principles to sift out the leaders of tomorrow. You need intelligence rating, qualification, experience, application, and a certain caliber to achieve status. In a word, one must show merit to advance in the new society of tomorrow.

In a new opening essay, Young reflects on the reception of his work, and its production, in a candid and lively way. Many of the critical ambiguities surrounding its original publication are now clarified and resolved. What we have is what the Guardian of London called "A brilliant essay." and what Time and Tide described as "a fountain gush of new ideas. Its wit and style make it compulsively enjoyable reading from cover to cover."

ISBN-10

1560007044
ISBN-13

978-1560007043
Edition

2nd
Publisher

Routledge
Publication date

January 31, 1994
Language

English
Dimensions

5.98 x 0.45 x 9.02 inches
Print length

198 pages
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Editorial Reviews

Review

"Has the thrill of immediate relevance. . . its thinking is consistently rich and fascinating. Young is onto a big theme, involving fundamental questions about social organization and individual dignity. What drives the book is Young's having identified one of the fundamental paradoxes of what we would call liberalism and the British would call socialism: the liberal dream of equal opportunity."

—Nicholas Lemann, The Atlantic Monthly

About the Author

Young, Michael

Product details

Publisher ‏ : ‎ Routledge; 2nd edition (January 31, 1994)
Language ‏ : ‎ English
Paperback ‏ : ‎ 198 pages
ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 1560007044
ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-1560007043
Item Weight ‏ : ‎ 10.4 ounces
Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 5.98 x 0.45 x 9.02 inches

Best Sellers Rank: #827,629 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
- #678 in Social Philosophy
- #863 in Sociology of Class
- #1,272 in Philosophy & Social Aspects of Education

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4.3 110 ratings

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4.3 out of 5

110 global ratings

5 star		62%
4 star		19%
3 star		11%
2 star		3%
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Fiona Schultz

Irony of the cost

Reviewed in the United States 🇺🇸 on November 20, 2022

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For a book that purportedly talks about the dangers and dystopian nature of meritocracy, I find it somewhat ironic that it's priced to be too expensive for non-elites to afford. Why is information that could potentially upend our existing order put behind a pay wall? Oh wait I answered my own question... After all, only the meritocracy is allowed to critique itself right?

2 people found this helpful

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Luis Monroy Gómez Franco

The one that originated the concept remains the best book about it

Reviewed in the United States 🇺🇸 on October 2, 2021

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Although the format of the book is very uncommon (half a science fiction story, half a sociological analysis of the subject, Goings description of meritocracy, it's philosophical underpinnings and functioning, remains as relevant today as it was when it first came out. It is a book that presents the case for a meritocratic organization of society highlighting both its strengths and weaknesses and pointing towards how it can act as a justification of persistent inequalities and the reconstitution of hereditary regimes. It is because of that that the book remains a great analysis of the subject, as it develops the consequences and implications of meritocratic regimes in full. It is worth pointing out that the book is not laudatory of meritocracy, it is a critique of it that takes its subject with all seriousness.

4 people found this helpful

Helpful

May have made too good a case!

Reviewed in the United States 🇺🇸 on July 29, 2003

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Dr. Young gives us a description of a society that abolishes priority based on family lines, and instead is based on intellectual achievement. He warns us against the excesses of such a system, but he does it an interesting way that treads dangerous ground. His narrator is firmly in support of the meritocracy system, and is given great eloquence by the author. Much as Aldous Huxley did in Brave New World, the system he seeks to question is championed by a very effective communicator. Some readers may not realize that Young was NOT an ardent supporter of the meritocracy idea, such is the eloquence of the narrator in its support. An interesting book that contributes greatly to the discussion, both pro and con. The final lines were beneath the rest of the book. A fiction writer can always make his point by having the characters behave in keeping with his theory. The philosophy was much better.

33 people found this helpful

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Book Worm

Too True!

Reviewed in the United States 🇺🇸 on February 19, 2014

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After reading this book it becomes clear where we are headed as a nation. And we, who have benefitted from our success, should try harder to convince others we are on the wrong road. We should not give up or give in to the government lie that our potential success rest on the misguided absent mindedness of government policy.

As a child I read Uncle Tom's Cabin, by Harriet Beecher Stowe where she writes of how slavery kept the Black Race in check. Many fought hard and long to end the sin of slavery and place equal opportunity as an uniquely American trait. But, after fighting the Civil War, and 660 thousand deaths what did we learn?

We learned when we don't watch out for the little guy the government will enact slavery once again. Only this time the government got the slaves to obey willingly and accept slavery in the form of welfare in the guise of hope!

If you love someone then give them a copy. Preferably a minority child!

9 people found this helpful

Helpful

Integrity Reviews

Wonderful and deeply considered ideas

Reviewed in the United States 🇺🇸 on September 19, 2019

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This book was written more than half a century ago, and imagines a Britain that has evolved into an almost pure intelligence-based meritocracy. The unresolved problem remains how to deal with the resentful feelings and actions of "the stupid". You can judge for yourself if this remains a present-day issue. The book also has a wonderful surprise ending in its final footnote. Strongly recommended not just by me, but also by Professor Herrnstein in his classic scientific book "IQ in the Meritocracy".

3 people found this helpful

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JJB3

Fiction as reality

Reviewed in the United States 🇺🇸 on April 9, 2018

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In fact a satire that has turned out to be prescient. About as scary as possible.

5 people found this helpful

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ge12cu

Profoundly relevant

Reviewed in the United States 🇺🇸 on May 22, 2018

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Amazingly apt and engaging read that distills so much of what we are seeing now in the political and economic sphere.

5 people found this helpful

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Bethesda Dad

The "best" shall inherit the earth

Reviewed in the United States 🇺🇸 on July 9, 2017

I read this book in the Pelican version back in 1967. It provided a clear picture of a Utopia that was still years away in class-ruled Britain, and sketched out the arguments that Herrnstein in his Commentary and Atlantic articles presented later to American audiences. Herrnstein, as the son of an immigrant house painter but later promoted to a Harvard professorship in a very rapid rise, illustrated the points that this book and his articles resent. Prestige and wealth will accrue to those with the brains and stamina to merit them on the basis of their work and not by status of birth, prejudice, or nepotism. We in the US are still dealing with the fall-out of this idea. For example, the SAT (and the earlier College Boards) became the major criterion for admission to selective colleges and universities. They were the most culture free and non-discriminatory means of selecting the "best and brightest".These exams reflected both the inherited IQ and home and school learning they did not produce equal results for all categories of student. For example, Asian students in California found that their high scores did not promise equally high admission rates to some University of California campuses, an issue that required legal action to remedy.

Students and graduates found people of similar attributes in school and work settings, which often led to marriage and children who inherited their parents' IQs and child-raising habits. This was true of both the most talented and those of lower ability. This is not social eugenics, just the way it has always been, except it was now assortative mating based on some kind of merit rather than on social class or income. For better or worse this is the way it is until a better form of societal organization evolves

5 people found this helpful

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Top reviews from other countries

Bob Barr

A very important book

Reviewed in the United Kingdom 🇬🇧 on September 12, 2019

Verified Purchase

This book is now very hard to get, I had the Pelican edition but wanted a Kindle version and was pleased it is now available.

This black fable warning against the rise of a meritocracy, because of the danger of a populist backlash, was scarily prophetic. Essential reading for those wanting to understand why Brexit happened..

4 people found this helpful

Amazon Customer

Kindle version - read to learn

Reviewed in the United Kingdom 🇬🇧 on June 13, 2022

Verified Purchase

Read it and consider what’s really going on. Then consider whether we can or need to change our education system.

Professor Jeremy M. Hardie

A Classic book re-visited

Reviewed in the United Kingdom 🇬🇧 on June 3, 2013

Verified Purchase

This is a seminal book, published over 50 years ago, which is often referred to and quoted (or misquoted), but I had never actually read it before now. It still provides interesting reasons to think critically about our present-day life and the way modern society is structured socially and politically. The word 'Meritocracy' that was invented by the author seems to have found its way into the English language.

9 people found this helpful

bobegerton

Excellent

Reviewed in the United Kingdom 🇬🇧 on September 27, 2020

Verified Purchase

Should be required reading for all who try to promote the concept that meritocracy is a good thing. A salutary warning.

One person found this helpful

Amazon Customer

Necessary knowledge.

Reviewed in the United Kingdom 🇬🇧 on November 29, 2020

Verified Purchase

Very readable, interesting and informative.

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