The Lies of Meritocracy in America
America is seen as the land of opportunity where an individual can go as far as their own merit takes them. The opportunities to be successful are endless and one just has to work hard to achieve them. This is based on the idea of meritocracy where individuals are only measured on the basis of their intellectual contributions, “divorced” identity, social status, gender, race, religion, and other characteristics. But this is only an illusion a so called myth that individuals are brought up to believe. In “Horatio Alger”, Harlon Daltons is able to break down this myth of meritocracy that include how we are judged solely on merits, have a fair opportunity to establish those merits, and how merit will bring success. Ruth Conniff in “Women Losing Ground” is able to support the myth of meritocracy that Dalton has established by explaining how women are still suffering from this myth that America has created. Dalton and Conniff are able to debunk the myth of meritocracy and help those that believe in meritocracy understand the inequality the myth has created in American culture. The idea of meritocracy is stating that an individual will not get judged and that “each of us is judged solely on her or his own merits” (Dalton (Alger theory)). But “sometimes we are judged on a different scale”... “favored...and ignored all on the basis of our race” (Dalton). How does this compare to only being judged on his or her own merits because all that is viewed is people being singled out on their appearance or surroundings and not on their qualifications. For example many times individuals don’t focus on how mothers get judged in the workplace. When they are “79 percent less likely to be hired and 100 percent less likely to be promoted because they are held to higher standard”(Conniff). Mothers are being held to a higher standard for having a family and being judged, held back from succeeding and providing because she is a mother when America is supposed be based on meritocracy.
America has created this false hope that everyone has the same/ fair opportunity to succeed. At times ”upward mobility is practically impossible without massive changes in the structure of the economy and in the location of public resources” (Dalton). An individual may try there hardest to get out of the situation they are in to try and succeed. But it becomes a struggle to find a good job; they are forced to settle to what they have especially if the individual is providing for a family. Many time women suffer from lack of structure in the economy and “as the economy weakens and employers shrink their payrolls, many of these women struggle to find work” (Conniff). Not only are the women struggling to find work as the economy weakens the “income for women has fallen over a period of several years - from $15.04 and hour in 2004 to $14.84 in 2007” (Conniff). Women are working hard to gain the same and fair opportunities to succeed but because of their location and the economy down fall they are the first to be let go or not get a fair wage. Not everyone has the same opportunities to live the American dream. For those that believe that this meritocracy is sole met by an individual's merit hasn't focused on how or what the “standards for measuring merit” (Dalton) are. Many times this depends on who you ask. Merit can be impossible to rate because every individual has their own idea on it. For instance people may have different ideas on what a mother should be doing; work and help the husband so they can live the American dream and be a successful family or “kick back and let dad bring home the paycheck” (Conniff). At times mothers are looked down on if they don't stay home and raise the children so how would an individual measure merit for a working mothers when “sexism persists, and society has not adjusted to the reality of two- career families” (Conniff). Women seem to continue to struggle in society and how they balance their working life and family considering individuals don't just focus on the merits she has accomplished but here surrounding because merit is viewed in several different ways. The myth of meritocracy and that an individual will only get viewed on their merits continues to be an illusion in society. This myth of the meritocracy will continue to be that a myth. This American Dream individuals believe in is a lie that was created to “hide the role of race in American society” (Dalton). As if race doesn't affect a person to become successful which in many cases it does and at times not only race affects an individual but the person's gender as well. People need to to stop saying an individual can simply “lift themselves up from their own bootstraps”(Dalton) because there surrounding can affect the way they can succeed. Hard work and individual merit does not mean a person will be successful. Many times a person is judged when the meritocracy states that an individual should not. Mothers get judged for being mothers and working; women get judged for being female and becoming liability if they become pregnant. There is no equal measure in society because merit is individually defined in each and every person. Dalton has a strong understanding on how these myths are only hurting American culture and how society continues to live a lie. Conniff was able to support Daltons myth of meritocracy because she compared it to the struggles a women/ mother faces in the American workforce and how many times she is held back in a society that strongly believes in meritocracy. Meizhu Lui “The Economic Reality of Being a Latino/a in the United States” wasn't mentioned because he have several statistics to how much a latino/a is making and not so much on how society is holding them back to achieve the American dream.