4 ms·

In an imaginary utopian meritocracy, yeah it would. Since we live in the real world however ...

by freshhawk 9y ago

halostatue 9y ago
Funnily…both concepts (“utopia” and “meritocracy”) were satirical before people started taking them seriously…
- Mz 9y ago
  People also wrote fiction about traveling to the moon for a very long time before it actually happened. And Star Trek is credited with inspiring a lot of modern developments that are now ubiquitous, like cell phones and automatic doors. (The automatic doors on Star Trek were being pulled open using ropes by hidden prop guys. The actors had to walk confidently forward as if they expected them to open when this was not guaranteed. They sometimes smacked right into them)
  - smt88 9y ago
    The problem with meritocracy isn't something that technology or science can solve, though. It's that there's no reasonable, objective definition of "merit". Is it how smart you are? That sounds a lot like eugenics, and we know where that slippery slope leads. Besides, most humans have a loved one who isn't very smart, so we're not going to be happy in a world that defines merit as intelligence. Is it how hard-working you are? Many of the same issues apply. Why does someone have less merit if they're born with mutations that make them able to produce 80% of the value of someone else? Is it how humanitarian you are? Again, that's a totally subjective standard. Even if you could decide what dimensions to measure merit on, these are all impossible things to quantify.
    - Mz 9y ago
      My assumption is that meritocracy would apply at work, not to society as a whole. If you assume we are talking about a country, sure, it is all kinds of fucked up and broken and will never fly. But, currently, women, people of color, etc, seem to be "last hired, first fired" plus generally paid less for reasons that appear to be something other than their objective ability to do the job. I would like to see people hired because they can do the job and paid what they are worth and not some discounted value based on skin color or gender. To me, that would be a meritocracy.
      - smt88 9y ago
        What is merit at work, though? How do you measure it? There aren't many employees (outside salespeople) who have revenue explicitly tied to their performance. What if you have an employee who works in your data center and averts 3 days of downtime? Maybe that person provided $100,000 of value and no one will ever know except for her.

In an imaginary utopian meritocracy, yeah it would. Since we live in the real world however ...

halostatue 9y ago

Funnily…both concepts (“utopia” and “meritocracy”) were satirical before people started taking them seriously…

Mz 9y ago
People also wrote fiction about traveling to the moon for a very long time before it actually happened. And Star Trek is credited with inspiring a lot of modern developments that are now ubiquitous, like cell phones and automatic doors. (The automatic doors on Star Trek were being pulled open using ropes by hidden prop guys. The actors had to walk confidently forward as if they expected them to open when this was not guaranteed. They sometimes smacked right into them)
- smt88 9y ago
  The problem with meritocracy isn't something that technology or science can solve, though. It's that there's no reasonable, objective definition of "merit". Is it how smart you are? That sounds a lot like eugenics, and we know where that slippery slope leads. Besides, most humans have a loved one who isn't very smart, so we're not going to be happy in a world that defines merit as intelligence. Is it how hard-working you are? Many of the same issues apply. Why does someone have less merit if they're born with mutations that make them able to produce 80% of the value of someone else? Is it how humanitarian you are? Again, that's a totally subjective standard. Even if you could decide what dimensions to measure merit on, these are all impossible things to quantify.
  - Mz 9y ago
    My assumption is that meritocracy would apply at work, not to society as a whole. If you assume we are talking about a country, sure, it is all kinds of fucked up and broken and will never fly. But, currently, women, people of color, etc, seem to be "last hired, first fired" plus generally paid less for reasons that appear to be something other than their objective ability to do the job. I would like to see people hired because they can do the job and paid what they are worth and not some discounted value based on skin color or gender. To me, that would be a meritocracy.
    - smt88 9y ago
      What is merit at work, though? How do you measure it? There aren't many employees (outside salespeople) who have revenue explicitly tied to their performance. What if you have an employee who works in your data center and averts 3 days of downtime? Maybe that person provided $100,000 of value and no one will ever know except for her.