meritocracy

meritocracy

English

Etymology

merit +‎ -o- +‎ -cracy, coined by British sociologist Alan Fox in 1956 in an article in Socialist Commentary from May 1956, used as a derisive term,[1] and popularized by British sociologist Michael Young, Baron Young of Dartington in his 1958 book The Rise of the Meritocracy.[2]

Pronunciation

• (UK) IPA^(key): /mɛɹɪˈtɒkɹəsi/
• (US) IPA^(key): /mɛɹəˈtɑkɹəsi/

Noun

meritocracy (countable and uncountable, plural meritocracies)

1. Rule by merit and talent.
2. A type of society where wealth, income, and social status are assigned through competition.

Usage notes

Though widely used as a term of praise,[3] the term was originally coined as a satire, and a critique of awarding educational achievement.[2]

Derived terms

• meritocrat
• meritocratic

Translations

rule by merit

Catalan: meritocràcia f Chinese: Mandarin: 精英政治 (jīngyīng zhèngzhì), 精英管理 (jīngyīng guǎnlǐ), 任人唯賢／任人唯贤 (zh) (rènrén wéixián), 英才管理 (yīngcái guǎnlǐ) Czech: meritokracie f Danish: meritokrati n Finnish: meritokratia (fi) French: méritocratie (fr) f Georgian: მერიტოკრატია (ka) (meriṭoḳraṭia) German: Meritokratie (de) f, Leistungsgesellschaft (de) f Hungarian: meritokrácia Icelandic: gáfumannaveldi n, veldi hæfileikamanna n Irish: tuilleamhlathas m Italian: meritocrazia (it) f Japanese: 能力主義 (nōryokushugi) Kazakh: меритократия (meritokratiä) Kyrgyz: меритократия (meritokratiya) Malay: meritokrasi (ms) Persian: شایسته‌سالاری‎ (fa) (šâyeste-sâlâri) Polish: merytokracja (pl) f Portuguese: meritocracia (pt) f Russian: меритокра́тия (ru) f (meritokrátija) Spanish: meritocracia (es) f Swedish: meritokrati (sv) c Thai: คุณธรรมนิยม (th) Turkish: meritokrasi

References

1. “meritocracy”, in Word Origins‎, 2019-04-30, retrieved 2022-07-24
2. Down with meritocracy, by Michael Young, in The Guardian, June 29, 2001.
3. Meritocracy's Lab Rat, by Timothy Noah