I think anyone “taking an active role in society” who doesn’t own land or a business has horrible consequences.
How (narrowly) would you define “taking an active role in society”? Would it apply to e.g. Martin Luther King? Eliezer Yudkowsky? Milton Friedman? George W. Bush? Donald Trump? Boris Berezovsky?
How would you rate the horribleness of the former three’s impact of society, given that none of them was ever a businessman or a landowner—no, not even Friedman? How would it measure against the impact of the latter three?
And I think meritocracy is actively resisted by those who face the reality that in a society dominated by technology white/jewish/asian males currently have a huge advantage, regardless of whether that advantage is genetic/cultural/path dependent/oppression based.
Um, what exactly is this “meritocracy” of yours? Does it include any moral claims? Or is it simply a part of the idea that we need more economic “productivity”? Would, say, a white guy who’s genetically predisposed to innovation, extraversion and risk-taking being born into an upper-class family, founding a fashion or advertizing agency, then making a fortune helping sell overpriced goods to affluent First World young people, be a decent example of “meritocracy”? “Productivity”?
How (narrowly) would you define “taking an active role in society”? Would it apply to e.g. Martin Luther King? Eliezer Yudkowsky? Milton Friedman? George W. Bush? Donald Trump? Boris Berezovsky?
How would you rate the horribleness of the former three’s impact of society, given that none of them was ever a businessman or a landowner—no, not even Friedman? How would it measure against the impact of the latter three?
Um, what exactly is this “meritocracy” of yours? Does it include any moral claims? Or is it simply a part of the idea that we need more economic “productivity”?
Would, say, a white guy who’s genetically predisposed to innovation, extraversion and risk-taking being born into an upper-class family, founding a fashion or advertizing agency, then making a fortune helping sell overpriced goods to affluent First World young people, be a decent example of “meritocracy”? “Productivity”?