My father was a working man. He taught us through osmosis that loyalty to an employer was a good character trait. He also, as an unintended consequence of his success, taught us that work-over-time pays off. I have seen this in some of my friends too. Is this an example of meritocracy?

The title of this post was taken from the Editorial Page of the St. Joseph, Missouri, News Press today, March 18, 2019. Fascinating. What does this mean? The Editor made this statement, matter of factually, as if everyone agrees that meritocracy is the accepted norm in America. I, too, accepted their comment as a given truth – for a moment – then I decided to look up the meaning of the word.

Meritocracy has a variety of meanings, here is one: ” …a ruling or influential class of educated or skilled people…” Whoa! Is that what the Editor intended? I think my father would have unconsciously agreed with this definition. Another noun definition is: “… government or the holding of power by people selected on the basis of their ability …”. Does this definition have merit?

My father, Lester Frank Clark, had a sixth grade education. He and my mother knew their place in the social order. They had seven children and raised us to get a high school diploma so we could get a job in a good factory. Along the way my firefighter father rose through the ranks of the Fire Department to become the Chief – an astounding feat of grit, determination, responsibility, and intellect. A friend of mine graduated from Elwood, Kansas, high school and did the same as my father. He worked with computers and rose to the rank of Chief Information Officer in a billion dollar company. As with my father he did this with the same grit, determination, and intellect. These were the men who most influenced my life.

Hard work and responsibility and talent pay off, right? That is the hope of America. My take is that this was true in the early formation and growth of our country. People flooded this land from Europe and other areas with the dream that they could own their own land, work independently, and benefit directly from their efforts. A small fraction achieved the dream. The idea and dream became less achievable as the industrial revolution picked up steam. Hard work got you a job in the coal mine or steel mill. People worked sixty hours a week at hard labor with minimal financial return. We are talking about the late 1800’s.

Ultimately the harsh working conditions gave birth to the Labor movement and to Unions. Collective Bargaining returned the hope to the people that they could benefit from hard work, and they did not have to be abused in the process.

Times changed. The Information and Technological Revolution ruled the late 20th Century. Education and job training became essential to progress and the ability to gain meaningful employment. But education and culture were at odds. My culture informed us to “…get a good Union job…” A high school education is enough. That was the case across the country. Needed skill sets were changing faster than human culture allowed.

People grew up with a high school/manufacturing mindset and then the world changed. Unions declined. Worker’s pay declined. I am not placing blame, just making an observation about good people who had the rug pulled out from under them through no fault of their own. These folks did the work that was asked of them. They got that diploma. They could read and write and do basic math. Then the virtual contract changed and their hard work was not enough. The merits changed!

How does a society condone rewards based on merits and then in the middle of the game change the merits? Many people fell behind. Many are still behind. Those people unconsciously feel betrayed by a system they believed in. These wounded people strike out at the world. They use politics or religion or traffic laws as their means of protest. They do not want handouts, they want meaningful work, just as their culture promised.

Meritocracy is only working in American if one uses the definition of a ruling class. One can safely venture that most of the 1% today are not self made. Like Trump they were given their fortunes by their ancestors. They did not earn their way through merit. (The Editor of the St. Joseph News Press had a newspaper empire given to him. He shouldered the responsibility and in a time when papers are failing his empire thrives. He gets some credit for grit, determination, and maturity over time.)