Summary: The analytical lens that will be constructed aims to allow for an interpretation of how students who are attempting to be upwardly-mobile are helped with moving beyond roadblocks that prevent mobility. This is mobility is achieved through a combination of adherence to meritocratic systems and the borrowing of cultural capital. I will argue that reproduction occurs when reliance on meritocracy in the educational system and the limited cultural capital of the student’s working-class parent/s are solely employed. In order to move beyond a mere reproduction of the parent’s social class, I argue that the student must interact with individuals or groups from higher social spheres who know how to activate cultural capital in specific instances …show more content…
This is rise to the top is achieved by all of those that are deserving, all who are able to demonstrate ability, despite their individual race, class, gender, or any other characteristic that is not based on merit. The purpose of a meritocracy, rather than a bureaucracy, is to form a class of elite individuals that are expected to be the most qualified in their line of work (Hayes 2012; 31, 53). In addition to assigning the best people to their respective positions, the meritocracy is also used to instill in people a sense of social belonging and order. When a person is placed in their respective class in society, it is done with careful precision that takes into account only the person’s true worthiness i.e. their merit (Young 1994; 97). The certainty of one’s place in a meritocracy leads to how this concept can be viewed as an …show more content…
It is not a neutral description of a system. The beliefs and values tell a story as to why things things are done in a particular way. People who are ruled in these systems are kept complacent. Every social system, including a meritocratic social system, has an ideology which functions to explain and justify its own existence as a way of life. The ideology of meritocracy reinforces the social system so that everyone is made to feel confident in their placement in society and accepts it without question. Individuals continue to work within the system because the narrative feels natural and unquestionable; they believe that it is working for the advantage of everyone. There is no way to test whether a system actually works which means that the system can neither be proven right or wrong. This unquestioning following happens for students at an early age which helps understand how Marx’s social reproduction theory
Race becomes important because it is often the unconscious method of discrimination in the educational structure in Waretown. The Mexican-American girls who become upwardly mobile are seen as the exception. White girls who became upwardly mobile didn’t face any dissonant reactions when they achieved mobility because it was normalized of the white race. Mexican-American girls, however, did face dissonance because it was not typically expected of them. They would often fight the administration much more than white girls in order to avoid being placed on the vocational track and have to work harder to stay out of it. The exceptionality of these girls proves how important and influential cultural capital is in shaping class futures. Only a small fraction of working-class and Mexican-American girls were upwardly mobile, largely due to the fact that they didn’t have the needed cultural capital. There had to be intervening factors, such as sports, private schools, or siblings, in order for these girls to gain the cultural capital needed to be mobile. Without this cultural capital, many of the working-class girls would have had the same future as their parents and remained working class. Cultural capital becomes key for shaping class
Gregory Mantsios advocates more on the struggle to proceed from one class to another in his essay-“Class in America”. Mantsios states that, “Class standing has a significant impact on our chances for survival....
The term “merit,” however, is relatively ambiguous. By “merit,” the speaker could be indicating one or many qualities, including, but not limited to, virtue, achievement, a...
Individuals may be gifted with certain privileges because of the position one holds in society. Most importantly, one can obtain certain privileges from being born with them. One might be “born” with certain privileges because of one’s race, ethnicity, religion and or social class. The most significant factor that may influence one’s obtainment of privileges is social class. Although, race also plays a crucial role. The privileges I obtain surface from my position in society. I don’t feel as if I acquire privileges because of my race and ethnicity. I feel as though that the privileges I acquire are earned, not given. My perspective of this arises from the social stratum in my proximity. The concept that hard work will get one to their desired
Success. Society tends to correlate “success” with the obtainment of a higher education. But what leads to a higher education? What many are reluctant to admit is that the American dream has fallen. Class division has become nearly impossible to repair. From educations such as Stanford, Harvard, and UCLA to vocational, adult programs, and community, pertaining to one education solely relies on one’s social class. Social class surreptitiously defines your “success”, the hidden curriculum of what your socioeconomic education teaches you to stay with in that social class.
Despite the typically imaged definition of socioeconomic class being based entirely on the wealth of the individual, there are many complex social factors at play as well. Not only does it stem from Max Weber’s concept of Socioeconomic class (wealth, status, and power), there is a mobility to it as well. Anyone can permanently or temporarily
One positive argument about social stratification is that it is necessary in order to get difficult tasks performed, because only people that are trained to do certain tasks can do them. Another argument is that people naturally tend to accept a status hierarchy and their place in it. Life is said to be more stable and serene in stratified societies. The culture found in a stratified society is more satisfying than in a homogenized society, some say. On the other hand, “A society that encourages status striving produces in contrast a good deal of brushing, disappointment, and ugly
Arguments about fairness and justice have been up for debate for centuries. "What do we deserve?", a question that has many individuals raising their brows to their efforts in their pursuit to achieve their goals. If it is said that we are all placed on an equal standard why are there individuals struggling to stay afloat? In Arora’s essay, he examines three forms of economic modals of social justices that question that idea of why the prosperous or the impecunious "deserve" their position or stature in life. Out of all of Arora's economic modals that he presents the Meritocratic System is the fairest because it gives everyone a fighting chance.
In many cases the transition of class involves a lot more than hard work and opportunity. In the play A Raisin in the Sun by Lorraine Hansberry, the Younger family is faced with a situation where an opportunity to be prosperous comes at the price of pride. The grandmother talks to her son explaining how the American Dream is not worth losing your pride for, “Son – I come from five generations of people who was slaves and sharecroppers – but ain’t nobody in my family never let nobody pay ‘em no money that was a way of telling us we wasn’t fit to walk the earth. We ain’t never been that poor. (Raising her eyes and looking at him) We ain’t never been that – dead inside.” Slaves had little choice, but to keep their pride hidden; the Younger family now has the choice. This is the issue emphasized by grandmother; a shot at monetary success is not worth pride. However, because the Younger family did not take this opportunity they will be forced to continue working for other people, and even if they feel as though they are working hard little progress can be made. In the trouble with geniuses by Malcolm Gladwell he explores various explanation for the lack of correlation between intelligence and success. Gladwell cites a study preformed by sociologist Annette Lareau. In Lareau’s study she observed an advantage rooted in the
Meritocracy, unlike aristocracy, is the system in which talented people are rewarded and promoted to leadership positions based on their merit. According to James Whitehurst, meritocracy “now refers to organizations where the best people and ideas win.” However, as true as it may sound, meritocracy in America is still a myth and is not a certainty. In the article “White Privilege: Unpacking the Invisible Backpack,” McIntosh’s disdain of meritocracy when she described as “I must give up the myth of meritocracy.” She mentioned the meritocracy myth because in reality, many people who lack talents and experience can still climb the upward mobility ladder and become wealthier while the rest of
Besides being a contradicting and unstable ideological discourse (Lim, 2013), ontologically, meritocracy is a dualistic construct (Robinson, 2012), and with problems. Its two elements of elitism and egalitarianism are, in my view, independent and competitive. With one being more than likely to dominate over the other, and in this case - the elitist one. Meritocracy is rooted in the ideas of Darwinism (Wong, 2013) which coining the term – “Survival of the Fittest” (Darwin, 1869, p.92), with those who are more talented or stronger gaining dominance over the rest in competitions (Darwin, 1869), and for their self-interest. (Hayek, 1948) Historically human society has evolved and organized along this linear pattern of having the best or the strongest to be at the top of a pyramidal hierarchy through competition. If this is the premise for meritocracy, then, elitism and not egalitarianism is the dominant strand in the ideological discourse of meritocracy. Meritocracy then merely provides a more humanistic packaging for this human evolutionary theory. If this is so, egalitarianism could not be looked upon to correct the excesses of meritocracy, with elitism being the dominant strand. I would think that in ...
represent the first act of action to climb up the social ladder. But for the
...e intelligence as a non-minority that was educated by a high ranking private school, then the minority should be rewarded for their efforts in accomplishing such a task. But, the amount of effort that the minority put into becoming slightly less intelligent than the non-minority does not guarantee the best for society. With the case of the two applicants applying for the bridge building job the sheer fact of knowing that one applicant worked harder than the other to obtain bridge building intelligence does not guarantee that a stable bridge will be built all the time. In other words, knowing that the minority worked harder to obtain knowledge will not allow the minority to build a stable bridge 100% of the time over his current 95% of the time. Therefore, a meritocratic society is necessary because it ensures that the community obtains the best that it has to offer.
The idea of meritocracy is beneficial to get rid of inequality if it is implemented without the interference of other factors. These factors, I believe, play a greater role in determining the fate and success of an individual. These non-merit factors are inheritance, unequal educational opportunities, luck, discrimination and poverty. Even an individual, who has unparalleled merit in his society, would not be able succeed if he does not have the non-merit factors in favor of him. This, I think, proves that even though meritocracy can be beneficial, due to the interference of other factors, as a whole it is not beneficial.
In other words, one’s parents’ statuses and wealth would be able to triumph over others’ hard work and talents. With rising parental intervention, it would lead to an unequal balance in advantages placed on students due to the differing social classes of their parents. Parents with education are more likely to have a larger social capital with can help earn an edge for their child over their peers. Children of parents who are either part of an alumni association or parent volunteer would stand a higher chance of getting a spot in a renowned primary school. In the top primary and secondary schools, a lopsided number of students are from well-to-do and educated family backgrounds: 6 out of 10 live in private property, when only 2 out of 10 of Singaporeans overall do. Moving on to higher education, students with parents of higher statuses can depend on them to tap on their connections to help them climb up the social ladder such as securing an internship or job spot. This defeats the purpose of having a meritocratic education system as parents of the upper tier possess greater leverage due to their social capital which can determine their child’s future, instead of their own merits and capabilities.