4 ms·

This article is garbage, and the believe system behind it is the most dangerous thing to modern society. Imagine a world where meritocracy is demolished; in fa

This article is garbage, and the believe system behind it is the most dangerous thing to modern society. Imagine a world where meritocracy is demolished; in favor of 'equality.' Being 'good' or making customers happy doesn't matter anymore. Can we please unite behind things like hard-work, quality and discipline to fight off this thinking?

fictionfuture 8y ago
"why can't every business be like Comcast?" -- A socialist
- vernie 8y ago
  Nice self-reply, dork.
  - dang 8y ago
    Could you please stop posting uncivil and/or unsubstantive comments here? We ban accounts that keep doing that. https://news.ycombinator.com/newsguidelines.html https://news.ycombinator.com/newsguidelines.html
    - vernie 8y ago
      It's pretty hard sometimes.
      - dang 8y ago
        You're absolutely right. But it's the social contract here, in the sense that all users are asked to make the effort in order to have a community that doesn't suck, or at least doesn't completely suck, in the long run. You might find these other links helpful for explaining the original spirit of the site: https://news.ycombinator.com/newswelcome.html https://news.ycombinator.com/newswelcome.html https://news.ycombinator.com/hackernews.html https://news.ycombinator.com/hackernews.html http://www.paulgraham.com/trolls.html http://www.paulgraham.com/trolls.html http://www.paulgraham.com/hackernews.html http://www.paulgraham.com/hackernews.html
Brotkrumen 8y ago
Funny thing is, the author probably is for a meritocracy. He just debunks the myth that we ever had one or that we have one today. The prime predictor of financial success in life isn't merit or hard work, but still is what it always was: who your parents are.
- nraynaud 8y ago
  I have recently come to a very inconfortable truth (I mean it was always there, but it hit my brain recently): we owe the Enlightenment to useless parasites. Nobility and monks whose free time allowed them to tinker and pursue intellectual curiosity.
  - about_help 8y ago
    And yet you use the phrase "useless parasites". Keep meditating!
- natalyarostova 8y ago
  The idea that we "don't have a meritocracy" -- as though meritocracy is a binary switch, which either exists or doesn't, is a poor representation of reality. Are the rich in the US more likely to have discovered, innovated, or created value, when compared to the rich in Russia? Or more despotic governments? I think so. Does this mean the US is the platonic ideal of meritocracy? Probably not, rent-seeking does exist. Some rich have provided negative-value to the US. I mean, when you drill deep enough, the entire concept of merit is pretty messy. There really isn't a clean way to isolate merit as a pure, elegant, factor. We are very much the product of our parents. (There is another perspective as well, that success in part due to your parents isn't even bad or non-meritocratic. The concept of the family business, or an investment in the success of a lineage, was the typical way of viewing the world up until recently. A parent working hard in order to provide their child a higher chance of success doesn't have to violate meritocracy -- although this is a point of values).
jessaustin 8y ago
Can we please unite... Ugh, let's please not. I value a marketplace of ideas, in which those with totalitarian personalities know they shouldn't attempt to badger us all into "thinking the right thoughts".
minikites 8y ago
Do you genuinely think you "work harder" than a migrant laborer who spends 14 hours a day picking fruit in the hot sun? "Hard work" is not closely linked to success.

fictionfuture 8y ago

"why can't every business be like Comcast?" -- A socialist

vernie 8y ago
Nice self-reply, dork.
- dang 8y ago
  Could you please stop posting uncivil and/or unsubstantive comments here? We ban accounts that keep doing that. https://news.ycombinator.com/newsguidelines.html https://news.ycombinator.com/newsguidelines.html
  - vernie 8y ago
    It's pretty hard sometimes.
    - dang 8y ago
      You're absolutely right. But it's the social contract here, in the sense that all users are asked to make the effort in order to have a community that doesn't suck, or at least doesn't completely suck, in the long run. You might find these other links helpful for explaining the original spirit of the site: https://news.ycombinator.com/newswelcome.html https://news.ycombinator.com/newswelcome.html https://news.ycombinator.com/hackernews.html https://news.ycombinator.com/hackernews.html http://www.paulgraham.com/trolls.html http://www.paulgraham.com/trolls.html http://www.paulgraham.com/hackernews.html http://www.paulgraham.com/hackernews.html

Brotkrumen 8y ago

Funny thing is, the author probably is for a meritocracy. He just debunks the myth that we ever had one or that we have one today. The prime predictor of financial success in life isn't merit or hard work, but still is what it always was: who your parents are.

nraynaud 8y ago
I have recently come to a very inconfortable truth (I mean it was always there, but it hit my brain recently): we owe the Enlightenment to useless parasites. Nobility and monks whose free time allowed them to tinker and pursue intellectual curiosity.
- about_help 8y ago
  And yet you use the phrase "useless parasites". Keep meditating!
natalyarostova 8y ago
The idea that we "don't have a meritocracy" -- as though meritocracy is a binary switch, which either exists or doesn't, is a poor representation of reality. Are the rich in the US more likely to have discovered, innovated, or created value, when compared to the rich in Russia? Or more despotic governments? I think so. Does this mean the US is the platonic ideal of meritocracy? Probably not, rent-seeking does exist. Some rich have provided negative-value to the US. I mean, when you drill deep enough, the entire concept of merit is pretty messy. There really isn't a clean way to isolate merit as a pure, elegant, factor. We are very much the product of our parents. (There is another perspective as well, that success in part due to your parents isn't even bad or non-meritocratic. The concept of the family business, or an investment in the success of a lineage, was the typical way of viewing the world up until recently. A parent working hard in order to provide their child a higher chance of success doesn't have to violate meritocracy -- although this is a point of values).

jessaustin 8y ago

Can we please unite... Ugh, let's please not. I value a marketplace of ideas, in which those with totalitarian personalities know they shouldn't attempt to badger us all into "thinking the right thoughts".

minikites 8y ago

Do you genuinely think you "work harder" than a migrant laborer who spends 14 hours a day picking fruit in the hot sun? "Hard work" is not closely linked to success.