Belief in meritocracy yields psychological satisfactions beyond logical consistency

Evidence

If one accepts the view that this is a land of opportunity in which merit will find a way, one is encouraged to accept the status differences of society. But it is more than logic which impels our men to accept these differences. There are satisfactions of identification with the going social order; it is easier to accept differences which one calls “just” than those that appear “unjust”; there are the very substantial self-congratulatory satisfactions of comparison with those lower on the scale. Thus this theme of “just desserts” applies to one’s own group, those higher, and those lower. — John T. Jost and Jim Sidanius, Political Psychology, 2198

Categorization

• XREF: Echoes system justification theory — the satisfactions of identification with the going order explain why subordinate groups accept inequality — plus the downward-comparison mechanism familiar from social comparison literature. — connects to: Meritocracy is a fairy tale masking class as individual choice — Clara E. Mattei, Escape from Capitalism, 222; The ideal of meritocracy rationalizes social inequality as natural individual failure. — Rebecca A. Martusewicz, Jeff Edmundson, and John Lupinacci, EcoJustice Education: Toward Diverse,…, 552