3 - Meritocracy is inevitable

• Parsons


  Meritocracy is based on qualities associated with the labour market. Skills that are most highly valued, in contemporary Western societies, are according to the consensus we are socialised into.
• Stratification

  Outcome of general agreements about how roles should be ranked in terms of functional importance. More highly valued, the more highly rewarded.
• Bottero (2005)


  'People have little choice but to accept the general value placed on the different positions in a hierarchy'
• American society


  Achievement in the economic sphere is valued
• Meritocracy is inevitable and legitimated as most people agree that high value should equal high reward.
• Example of Inevitability

  In US society, those placed in higher positions organise and plan activities for those lower. Different groups are integrated in society differently. Hostility may arise but the relationship between groups is one of cooperation and interdependence.
• Evaluation of Parsons:

  • Some gain at the expense of others so meritocracy cannot be cooperative
  • Not necessarily shared values as to who should receive the highest rewards or which are the most important jobs in society e.g. corporations earn more than police or footballers earn more than doctors. This is inequality and causes hostility.