Fed Chair Bernanke to Princeton Grads: Meritocracy Doesn't 'Pass Ethical Muster'
this guy runs the Fed. while I believe he is referring more to economic returns in this speech, her is Rand's take on meritocracy.
“Meritocracy” is an old anti-concept and one of the most contemptible package deals. By means of nothing more than its last five letters, that word obliterates the difference between mind and force: it equates the men of ability with political rulers, and the power of their creative achievements with political power. There is no difference, the word suggests, between freedom and tyranny: an “aristocracy” is tyranny by a politically established elite, a “democracy” is tyranny by the majority—and when a government protects individual rights, the result is tyranny by talent or “merit” (and since “to merit” means “to deserve,” a free society is ruled by the tyranny of justice)." Philosophy: Who Needs It?
“Meritocracy” is an old anti-concept and one of the most contemptible package deals. By means of nothing more than its last five letters, that word obliterates the difference between mind and force: it equates the men of ability with political rulers, and the power of their creative achievements with political power. There is no difference, the word suggests, between freedom and tyranny: an “aristocracy” is tyranny by a politically established elite, a “democracy” is tyranny by the majority—and when a government protects individual rights, the result is tyranny by talent or “merit” (and since “to merit” means “to deserve,” a free society is ruled by the tyranny of justice)." Philosophy: Who Needs It?
'From those to whom much has been given, much is expected'.
A fine thought, everyone expects the best people to contribute highly.
But the problem is when the thought is,
'we will take back what we and nature have given, like it or not'.
These are quite different concepts.