Against Meritocracy
Culture, power and myths of mobility
Author(s)
Littler, Jo
Collection
Knowledge Unlatched (KU)Language
EnglishAbstract
In this book Jo Littler argues that meritocracy is the key cultural means of legitimation for contemporary neoliberal culture – and that whilst it promises opportunity, it in fact creates new forms of social division. Against Meritocracy is split into two parts. Part I explores the genealogies of meritocracy within social theory, political discourse and working cultures. It traces the dramatic U-turn in meritocracy’s meaning, from socialist slur to a contemporary ideal of how a society should be organised. Part II uses a series of case studies to analyse the cultural pull of popular ‘parables of progress’, from reality TV to the super-rich and celebrity CEOs, from social media controversies to the rise of the ‘mumpreneur’. Paying special attention to the role of gender, ‘race’ and class, this book provides new conceptualisations of the meaning of meritocracy in contemporary culture and society.
Keywords
Media & Communications; meritocracy; social mobility; neoliberalism; upward mobility; social inequalityDOI
10.4324/9781315712802ISBN
9781317496045, 9781138889545, 9781315712802, 9781138889552OCN
1100544149Publisher
Taylor & FrancisPublisher website
https://taylorandfrancis.com/Publication date and place
2017Imprint
RoutledgeClassification
Media studies