How Meritocracy is Defined Today? Contemporary Aspects of Meritocracy

1.Introduction1. 1.Meritocracy as a social systemMeritocracy is a social system in which advancement in society is based on an individual's capabilities and merits rather than on the basis of family, wealth, or social background (Bellows, 2009; Castilla & Benard, 2010; Poocharoen & Brillantes, 2013; Imbroscio, 2016). The idea of meritocracy has received much attention since British sociologist Michael Young first coined the term in 1958. In particular, meritocracy has increasingly been recognized as a positive system in Western societies, and the ideology has been tightly coupled with the notions of capitalism and egalitarian values, which are fundamental to the concept of the "American Dream" (Sealy, 2010). However, from a different viewpoint, a number of scholars (Bell, 2012; Poocharoen & Brillantes, 2013; Babcock & Freivogel, 2015; So, 2015; Zhang, 2015) have reported evidence that the initial concept of meritocracy primarily emerged in Asia first, indicating an antecedent to the meritocratic practices of Western societies. Hobson (2004) argued that the concept of merit initially started in China and came to the West via Confucian texts.In modern society, meritocracy has allowed low status group members to dream about improving their social status, economic class, and place in the hierarchy, implanting the ideology that everyone has a chance of succeeding if they cultivate the required abilities (Wiederkehr et al., 2015). In this vein, meritocracy has served as an engine of meritocratic upward mobility for maintaining social order and calming social unrest. As a governing principle, meritocracy has also permeated a number of Asian countries that are heavily influenced by Confucianism, such as Singapore, Korea, and China. Correspondingly, studies of meritocracy have been conducted in many different disciplines including business, public administration, education, psychology, and so forth, in an attempt to understand the social and cultural factors around us.1. 2.Meritocracy todayMuch has changed since Young coined the term "meritocracy" in 1958. People around the world have undergone the harsh reality of ideological confrontations, globalization, financial crises, and the consequent inequality problems. In conjunction with recent salient events, people's beliefs about and perceptions of meritocracy have fluctuated in society in recent years (Corbett, 2013; Reynolds & Xian, 2014; Newman et al., 2015). Accordingly, much of the current literature on meritocracy pays particular attention to revisiting or redefining the concept (Young, 1998; Young, 2006; Pappas & Tremblay, 2010; Reyes, 2013; Reynolds & Xian, 2014; UNDP, 2015). Allen (2011) even claimed that the initial principles of meritocracy had already changed, insisting that the system that Young originally described no longer exists. In recent years, there has been a vigorous debate on what constitutes a correct, inclusive, and fair form of meritocracy given the evolving sociopolitical circumstances in Singapore. What kind of meritocracy are we witnessing at this moment? This study attempts to address this question. The authors argue that there is a substantial need for discussion and reflection on the contemporary aspects of meritocracy. Hence, the main purpose of this study is not to discover or provide another definition of meritocracy; rather, it is to describe several aspects and characteristics of meritocracy today, based on a review of the descriptions found in the scholarly literature. This comprehensive review is expected to enhance our understanding of meritocracy and to stimulate a debate on the necessary conditions for contemporary meritocracy.2. Methodology2.1. Selection of relevant articlesTo achieve this study's objective of describing the characteristics of contemporary meritocracy, a systemic review of studies of meritocracy was conducted as follows. First, the authors used the keyword "meritocracy" to search for relevant references on the Web of Science. …