Meritocracy: Capitalism’s #1 Myth to Control You
Channel: LuckyBlackCat
Date: 2021-06-15

Meritocracy is a myth, a sweet lie we are told to make capitalism seem fair. But is this lie really all that sweet? Is meritocracy something good to strive for – or is it trash?

This video will:

1. Discuss how belief in meritocracy is used to pacify, control, and manipulate us into supporting a system that is against our interests.

2. Present evidence that society is not a meritocracy: meritocracy is a myth.

3. Assert that the capitalist class makes money not by merit but by owning assets, and that profit gained from this ownership can be considered a legally protected form of theft. This is not a meritocracy but a kleptocracy.

4. Make the case that meritocracy, although it would be an improvement from our current society, is not a desirable goal to aspire to. It is capitalism’s version of utopia, but it is a dystopian utopia.

5. Present what I consider a preferable alternative to meritocracy, as described by Peter (Pyotr) Kropotkin in his book The Conquest of Bread (aka The Bread Book).

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Say hi to me on twitter: https://twitter.com/1luckyblackcat 

►►►Check out some of my other videos◄◄◄

► The Seductive Power of the Right-wing Fantasy: Can We Break the Spell? https://youtu.be/CQujPLjtUdU

► Blaming Black People (Ft. Ben Shapiro & Sargon of Akkad) https://youtu.be/J0aK679qYeY 

► Lies & Half-Truths on Escaping Poverty https://youtu.be/3GOZIsvLYpQ

► Playlist https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLpgXZBN8fmc0t-rRGgKwDYfkBNSd8jYDS 

VIDEO SECTIONS 

0:00 Introduction
0:17 Plutonomy: Citigroup’s Secret Memos
3:12 Part 1: The Meritocracy Myth is Pacifying
5:55 Part 2: Meritocracy is a Myth
9:31 Part 2.1: Merit and the Capitalist Class
11:39 Part 3: Meritocracy is Not Worth Having
26:30 Wrap-Up
27:40 Outro 

SOURCES

Part 1

Citigroup’s secret memos:
- “Plutonomy: Buying Luxury, Explaining Global Imbalances” 16 Oct 2005 
- “Revisiting Plutonomy: The Rich Getting Richer” 5 Mar 2006
- “The Plutonomy Symposium - Rising Tides, Lifting Yachts” 29 Sep 2006 

Links to download all three memos
https://pissedoffwoman.wordpress.com/2012/04/12/the-plutonomy-reports-download/

Part 2

Edward N. Wolff & Maury Gittleman, “Inheritances and the Distribution of Wealth - Or Whatever Happened to the Great Inheritance Boom?” US Bureau of Labor Statistics, Working Papers # 445, Jan 2011, Table 7
https://www.bls.gov/osmr/research-papers/2011/pdf/ec110030.pdf 

Raj Chetty, et al. “IS THE UNITED STATES STILL A LAND OF OPPORTUNITY? RECENT TRENDS IN INTERGENERATIONAL MOBILITY.” National Bureau of Economic Research, Working Paper Series # 19844. Jan 2014
https://www.nber.org/papers/w19844

Matt Bruenig “What’s more important: a college degree or being born rich?” 13 Jun 2013  
http://mattbruenig.com/2013/06/13/whats-more-important-a-college-degree-or-being-born-rich

Part 3

Pyotr Kropotkin, The Conquest of Bread. G. P. Putnam’s Sons, 1906 (original: 1892)
https://theanarchistlibrary.org/library/petr-kropotkin-the-conquest-of-bread

MUSIC CREDITS

Winter (Vivaldi)
Dance of the Sugar Plum Fairy (Tchaikovsky)
In The Hall Of The Mountain King (Grieg)
MydNyte (Noir Et Blanc Vie)
Beyond (Patrick Patrikios)
slow-trap-drums_104bpm (dMoney) samplefocus.com 
Entry Of The Gladiators (Julius Fucik)
Boardroom Theme (Unicorn Heads)
Connection (Wayne Jones)
Epic Battle Speech (Wayne Jones)
Sound Off Alert March (US Marine Band)

MISC. CREDITS

Video clip: George Carlin, Life Is Worth Losing

Intro inspired by Michael Moore: Capitalism a Love Story

Usually my main creative inspiration is ContraPoints but here I’m going for a style similar to Some More News or Last Week Tonight

VISUAL CREDITS

freepik.com pictures by
drobotdean
cookie_studio
katemangostar
vectorpocket
8photo
starline
freepik
upklyak
luis_molinero
rawpixel.com

Wikimedia Commons, Mwaldeck, Citibank_Rio_de_Janeiro.jpg https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/deed.en

4K Planet Earth Spinning in Space: Free HD Videos - No Copyright https://bit.ly/2CbkIcQ

KEYWORD SEARCH TERMS
meritocracy capitalism capitalist meritocracy myth pacify control manipulate class plutonomy plutocracy kleptocracy class struggle class conflict class war Kropotkin Conquest of Bread The Bread Book, LuckyBlackCat, Lucky Black Cat


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