The myth of meritocracy makes Americans deny class differences

Evidence

Why do Americans, in particular, refuse to talk about class? Perhaps it’s because Americans assume there aren’t classes in the U.S. due to the lack of Lords and Kings. Most of our students say that they are “middle class” even though we know that the families that many of them come from are blue collar or working class families. Their response indicates that they understand “middle class” to mean “normal.” Another reason Americans don’t talk about class could be because they believe that classes are fluid—and that people move up or down based on their abilities and work ethic. Or perhaps Americans believe in the so-called American dream: “Anybody can grow up to be President.” The American Dream is created through the myth of meritocracy, an entrenched belief that a person’s success and achievement is based on the exercise of hard work and natural talent. — Rebecca A. Martusewicz, Jeff Edmundson, and John Lupinacci, EcoJustice Education, 914

Categorization

• XREF: Directly parallels the earlier chapter claim that the ideal of meritocracy rationalizes social inequality as natural individual failure (ch12). — connects to: Affluent parents pursue segregation while sincerely believing they favor equality — Rebecca A. Martusewicz, Jeff Edmundson, and John Lupinacci, EcoJustice Education: Toward Diverse,…, 981; Americans deny class’s relevance by attributing it to foreign societies — John T. Jost and Jim Sidanius, Political Psychology, 2171; Meritocracy belief blames excluded individuals for their own exclusion — Alice E. Marwick, Status Update: Celebrity, Publicity,…, 711 (+7 more)
• CANDY: The observation that students call their working-class families ‘middle class’ because they take ‘middle class’ to mean ‘normal’ is a crisp, memorable teaching nugget.

Broader Connections

• Meritocracy is a fairy tale masking class as individual choice #corroborates (0.88) — Clara E. Mattei, Escape from Capitalism, 222
• Americans deny class’s relevance by attributing it to foreign societies #expands (0.85) — John T. Jost and Jim Sidanius, Political Psychology, 2171
• The ideal of meritocracy rationalizes social inequality as natural individual failure. #expands (0.85) — Rebecca A. Martusewicz, Jeff Edmundson, and John Lupinacci, EcoJustice Education, 552
• The meritocracy myth masks structural inequality and justifies tech wealth #expands (0.82) — Alice E. Marwick, Status Update, 673
• Meritocracy belief blames excluded individuals for their own exclusion #expands (0.80) — Alice E. Marwick, Status Update, 711
• Working class people rationalize the status quo through meritocratic beliefs #expands (0.78) — John T. Jost and Jim Sidanius, Political Psychology, 2232
• Redefining success as occupational merit denies class status’s self-esteem threat #expands (0.75) — John T. Jost and Jim Sidanius, Political Psychology, 2169
• Tech’s meritocracy rhetoric contradicts its actual demographics and practices #exemplifies (0.72) — Alice E. Marwick, Status Update, 645
• Members of disadvantaged groups deny their own discrimination implicitly #corroborates (0.72) — Anthony G. Greenwald and Mahzarin R. Banaji, Implicit Social Cognition, 154