Meritocratic ideology functions as a weapon removing agency from workers.

Evidence

No physical weapon could have been as powerful as this theoretical framework in removing agency from workers and justifying private profi t. Th e message is one that today we have all internalized: if enough eff ort is exercised, we can elevate ourselves to become part of the savingandinvesting class. Th ose who fail to do so can blame only themselves. — Clara E. Mattei, The Capital Order, 1572

Categorization

• XREF: Directly connects to the reader’s stated purpose of understanding austerity as a class weapon; resonates with Bourdieu and symbolic violence. — connects to: Working class people rationalize the status quo through meritocratic beliefs — John T. Jost and Jim Sidanius, Political Psychology, 2232; Ideological forms like wages serve to maintain capitalist domination — Hall, Stuart, Essential Essays, Volume 1, 903; People rationalize oppressive arrangements that harm them rather than protect their own interests — John T. Jost and Jim Sidanius, Political Psychology, 2911 (+1 more)

Broader Connections

• Working class people rationalize the status quo through meritocratic beliefs #expands (0.85) — John T. Jost and Jim Sidanius, Political Psychology, 2232
• People rationalize oppressive arrangements that harm them rather than protect their own interests #corroborates (0.78) — John T. Jost and Jim Sidanius, Political Psychology, 2911
• Ideological forms like wages serve to maintain capitalist domination #expands (0.72) — Hall, Stuart, Essential Essays, Volume 1, 903