When They Call Merit "Racist"
I'm so sickened by all the programs out there that call qualities like punctuality and individualism "white" standards that people of other colors can't be expected to meet (though, of course, those who put out these sick "lessons" don't mean Asians).
Angel Eduardo, a columnist from the Center For Inquiry, writes in Newsweek that calling merit "racist" erases people of color:
I saw a video of San Francisco Board of Education Commissioner Alison M. Collins making the rounds online. "When we talk about merit, meritocracy and especially meritocracy based on standardized testing, I'm just going to say it," Collins said. "Those are racist systems."I know what Collins means. The idea of meritocracy--that hard work and tenacity, rather than wealth or social class, lead to success, is a dangerous fantasy, as is the idea that skill is the coin of the realm in America. But there's a critical difference between meritocracy and merit, and the failure to make this distinction leads to proposed solutions that at best exacerbate the problem and at worst cripple those they're trying to help.
Of course, it's true that success is in large part determined by things outside of our control. No one picks their parents, their environment, their upbringing, their temperament, their talents, their capacity to learn, or their capacity to excel. But these factors are all consequential to how our lives turn out. Our society also values certain attributes more than others, praises certain talents more than others, and rewards certain endeavors more than others. We can talk about perseverance all we like, but we cannot escape the fact that in this race, we don't all start on equal footing.
Like Collins, I believe we should strive to correct these inequities. We need to devise and develop other paths to prosperity, more robust social safety nets, and better education systems. We need to talk about solutions that will truly uplift those being harmed by our meritocratic obsession.
But calling merit racist is not the way to do it.
Meritocracy is a kind of tyranny, but merit still matters.
...I understand the point of view of those trying to even the playing field for minorities such as myself, but if I discovered that my candidacy for a position at an elite school was being prioritized even partly because I'm "brown" and not solely due to the quality of my work, I'd feel not just uncomfortable but insulted. I'd feel my effort and experience were being invalidated, that I was being tokenized, infantilized, and given a participation trophy.
More than that, I would feel erased. That may sound extreme, but it isn't, not when you consider the fact that in order to achieve their goals, the people extending me this concession need to view me primarily as an abstraction, as a box to tick, as another "brown body" in a quota to fill. They may think they're doing this for me, but really they're doing it at me.
Regardless of what side of success we're on, we are often tacitly--and sometimes explicitly--being told we aren't good enough; that we either need to be carried across the finish line or have the finish line cross us where we stand. That notion alone does far more damage to an already downtrodden people than failing to meet any standard ever could.
Eduardo fails to make an argument for something he obviously doesn't believe in. He doesn't want the participation trophy and doesn't want to compete fairly. Good luck with that.
Ben at July 8, 2021 6:04 AM
Talk about an incoherent stream of consciousness.
This guy wants to rail against the gods that people don't all start out at the same place with the same set of tools and the same capabilities. It's nothing more than the "Life is unfair!" wailing of the adolescent who wants life to be effortless and require nothing of them to do better.
In prehistory, morons like this are the ones eaten by the sabertooth tigers. And our species was better off because of it.
ruralcounsel at July 8, 2021 7:20 AM
'... if I discovered that my candidacy for a position at an elite school was being prioritized even partly because I'm "brown" and not solely due to the quality of my work, I'd feel not just uncomfortable but insulted.'
So Eduardo being given a special benefit is an "insult." Presumably, society needs to give him something to repay him for this "insult."
And so on, and so on ...
dee nile at July 8, 2021 8:18 AM
A major problem in the second half of the last century and the first fifth of this one is that "merit" doesn't mean courage, effort, stoicism, patience, readiness, fidelity or even kindness.
In these times, "merit" means 'I get good grades, even if I'm incredibly selfish and isolated.'
Crid at July 8, 2021 8:29 AM
In these times, "merit" means 'I get good grades, even if I'm incredibly selfish and isolated.'
Good point, and it illustrates the confusion among "merit," "credentials" and "pedigree." They're not the same. If success depends on prepping at Choate, matriculating at Yale, and taking an unpaid internship that only wealthy kids can afford, then it's hard to blame the less-than-elite from feeling locked out. Actual merit, in terms of accomplishment and future potential, doesn't come into it much.
Old RPM Daddy (OldRPMDaddy at GMail dot com) at July 8, 2021 11:58 AM
Agree completely.
Crid at July 8, 2021 12:09 PM
Meritocracy is not "tyranny". In pro sports, it is a true meritocracy. You only get in if you are the best.
If he means credentials which can be bought by going to an elite college, that sort of sucks, but hey life is unfair. Tall people also make more money.
There are also people who rise at work because people like them rather than because they do a good job--unfair? Sure. So what.
There is no level playing field. BUT if you figure out what you are good at and work hard at it you can succeed. I have a friend with an accent, who is short, and he will say he has probably missed some opportunities but he is still a vp with a major company.
There do indeed need to be more alternate paths to success such as apprenticeships at companies instead of strictly a college degree, or starting your own business. I would just point out that progressives wage war on such opportunity avenues every chance they get. They oppose charter schools, private colleges, ride-share jobs, small businesses, and the gig economy.
cc at July 8, 2021 12:42 PM
It is so frustrating, because the reason black people do worse at standardized testing is because the education they get beforehand isn't as good. And by education I don't just mean schooling... I mean everything, the parenting, the community support, the extracurricular activities and past-times, the outings, everything.
Eliminating standardized tests doesn't change that.
Getting them better education would change that. But it's easier said than done, and so incredibly difficult that it's easier to just eliminate tests and grades and whatnot and pretend these differences do not exist.
NicoleK at July 8, 2021 12:58 PM
There are also people who rise at work because they have good people skills. They've shown their managers that they can handle being put in charge of people or projects.
The Peter Principle is based on that premise. The best technician in the department may turn out to be a lousy manager of people and, if promoted to manager, he may find that he's been promoted to his "maximum level of incompetence."
Conan the Grammarian at July 8, 2021 1:21 PM
> because the reason black people
> do worse at standardized testing
> is because the education they
> get beforehand isn't as good
My Dear, Dear woman… THERE ARE OTHER FACTORS.
We can provide cites, books, charts and podcasts. But eventually one has to consider that the campfire presumption that we're all just the same can no longer be sustained.
Crid at July 9, 2021 5:23 AM
People managed to educate themselves quite nicely before the advent of public schools.
In this day and age of internet, online free courses, public libraries, etc., the only thing stopping anyone from getting a good education is desire and drive.
Unfortunately, too many people lack those. Either they weren't factory installed at birth, or their so-called families and friends beat it out of them.
ruralcounsel at July 11, 2021 7:21 AM
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