Why We Need to Stop Using Meritocracy to Justify Inequality
On a daily basis, we see our wages dwindle and labor laws loosen, yet that is never taken into account to justify inequality.
It’s not a secret that the gap between the rich and the poor is looking more like an abyss these days. While working people are losing their jobs and struggling to pay rent right now, due to the COVID-19 pandemic, billionaires increased their wealth. This situation brings us to question — more than ever — that old narrative that was so forcefully bestowed upon us: meritocracy — the idea that hard work makes anything possible.
On a daily basis, we see our wages dwindle and labor laws loosen, yet that is never taken into account to justify inequality. Instead, disparity and poverty are constantly being sustained with the narrative that people don’t work hard enough.
In this context, I want to bring to light the self-employment movement, for it is crucial to understand the growing disparity. It is constantly being advertised by companies the benefits of self-employment and its relation to entrepreneurship — no boss and flexible schedule are some of the upsides that are underscored. Notwithstanding, behind all that advertising and seemingly great advantages lie the reality of no employment…
