02273cam a2200289 i 4500 391821859 TxAuBib 20191007120000.0 190221s2019||||||||||||||||||||||||eng|u 2019007519 9780735221994 30.00 0735221995 30.00 eng rda TxAuBib rda Markovits, Daniel, 1969- The meritocracy trap [BOOK] : how America's foundational myth feeds inequality, dismantles the middle class, and devours the elite / Daniel Markovits. New York : Penguin Press, 2019. xxiii, 418 pages : illustrations ; 25 cm. txt rdacontent n rdamedia nc rdacarrier Includes bibliographical references (pages 313-404) and index. It is an axiom of American life that advantage should be earned through ability and effort. Even as the country divides itself at every turn, the meritocratic ideal - that social and economic rewards should follow achievement rather than breeding - reigns supreme. Both Democrats and Republicans insistently repeat meritocratic notions. Meritocracy cuts to the heart of who we are. It sustains the American dream. But what if, both up and down the social ladder, meritocracy is a sham? Today, meritocracy has become exactly what it was conceived to resist: a mechanism for the concentration and dynastic transmission of wealth and privilege across generations. Upward mobility has become a fantasy, and the embattled middle classes are now more likely to sink into the working poor than to rise into the professional elite. At the same time, meritocracy now ensnares even those who manage to claw their way to the top, requiring rich adults to work with crushing intensity, exploiting their expensive educations in order to extract a return. All this is not the result of deviations or retreats from meritocracy but rather stems directly from meritocracy's successes. Provided by publisher. 20191007. Equality United States. Middle class United States. Intellectuals United States.