La meritocracia a examen

Abstract

What is the origin of the burgeoning populism? Inequality?, the fear of losing the privileges of the
ruling classes?, the anger of the most disadvantaged at the ineffectiveness of the social
democratic parties? In this article we will review these issues through the prism of Rawls's Theory
of Justice. We are living a boom in inequality, but not just any inequality: an inequality in which
the favoured people look down on the less favoured, and do not hesitate to tell them: “it is my merit to be where I am, if you want to progress you just have to make an effort as I have done ”. This meritocratic arrogance deserves an answer, for example, eliminating or decreasing the value of merit. But decreasing it excessively can lead to mediocre societies, without sufficient capacity for innovation. So, to what extent to allow inequality? Up to point “D” of Rawls, the one in which this inequality ceases to have a positive return for the most disadvantaged. This “D” point should not be crossed, since in such a case the moral damage caused by the tyranny of merit can have serious effects on social cohesion.