THE DISAPEARANCE OF MERITOCRACY
by Rich Vernadeau For awhile, post World War 2, anyone from Podunk could make it through the merits of his work to rise through most of the corporations, get good positions, get plum jobs, etc. based on the quality of his work and his contributions to the company. Unfortunately, the doors of access gained through meritocracy shut down by the early 90s and now the children of the elite give favored positions to the children of the elite. The Baby Boomers did not have the ceilings imposed on them subsequent generations are facing. This is the part of the equation of which many people are either ignorant of or in denial. It is widespread and systemic and goes way further and deeper than just the Fortune 500 corporations. It permeates all of the economics in our society. On the local level, it's why the doctor's street gets fixed while the street upon which the working class joe lives doesn't (or not nearly as quickly). It's why the bank president's son gets the part in the play instead of you, for example, etc. It's why the CEOS of all the major 500 companies are usually from the upper crust families and went to Ivy League schools. The elite take care of each other. They consistently hire and promote each other within corporations and appoint members of their class to the boards. The elite also all marry within their class (except for a few rebels).