Evidence on Poverty Traps from Rural Bangladesh [pdf]
These conclusions seem to spit in the face of &quot;meritocracy&quot;. It&#x27;s always puzzled me that this idea of meritocracy, especially in tech (notably USA), is so pervasive, bleeding into our corporate performance reviews and our pro-diversity efforts (&quot;we hire only according to merit&quot; &lt;signed, Diversity Manager&gt;). But it is so internally irrational. I&#x27;m reminded of this argument:<p>&gt; The case against meritocracy can be put psychologically: (a) The abolition of materialist-elitist values is a prerequisite for the abolition of inequality and privilege; (b) the persistence of materialist-elitist values is a prerequisite for class stratification based on wealth and status; (c) therefore, a class-stratified meritocracy is impossible.<p>&gt; The case against meritocracy can also be put sociologically: (a) Allocating rewards irrespective of merit is a prerequisite for meritocracy, otherwise environments cannot be equalized; (b) allocating rewards according to merit is a prerequisite for meritocracy, otherwise people cannot be stratified by wealth and status; (c) therefore, a class-stratified meritocracy is impossible.<p>Source: <a href="https:&#x2F;&#x2F;statmodeling.stat.columbia.edu&#x2F;2007&#x2F;12&#x2F;04&#x2F;meritocracy_won&#x2F;" rel="nofollow">https:&#x2F;&#x2F;statmodeling.stat.columbia.edu&#x2F;2007&#x2F;12&#x2F;04&#x2F;meritocrac...</a><p>The idea that &quot;innate&quot; merit should be rewarded (this underlies what we consider meritocracy) is fundamentally a noncontinuable state. Above all we need to focus on delivering opportunity via improved circumstances and empowerment, irrespective of merit or success: that is the only path to actual equality.