Re: In other words, [Affirmative Action] is socialist and, being philosophically a libertarian, is something I, personally, am opposed to. And, of course, this leads to what we are now seeing in SA, which is the result of putting incompetent people into jobs which they cannot do -- major administrative and performance failure, especially in the public sector.
LOL... But one doesn't have to travel as far as South Africa to watch "incompetent people" screwing around. I can see it every day right here in Belgium --a 99.99% white-ruled country.
I think you bring up the issue of "meritocracy" and today's wishful notion that meritocracy is an objective concept.... I've myself mulled over that idea lately and I've come to the conclusion that, somehow, throughout History, in every civilization, under every latitude, ALL social fabrics were deemed meritocratic. Be it Ancient Greece's metropolian elitism (Athens/Sparta vs the rest), Medieval Europe's nobility, or today's American pseudo-free-for-all... Indeed, it's the definition of "meritocracy" that has continuously changed over time.
Today, for most people, a meritocratic society means a society whose workplace (enterprises, professions, arts,...) is open to the "best and brightest" as certified by school/university certificates/diplomas --that is, broadly speaking. Yet, such a definition is itself arbitrary, not universal, much less eternal.... In the past, say, in Medieval Europe, "merit" was not earned --it was a birthright. Yet, eventually, the birthright turned into an "objective merit" because most wellborn nobles attented universities, learned Latin, theology, law, and travelled across Europe to accumulate "culture". All of which raising them well above the commoners whose daily drudgery kept them uncouth and illiterate.
So, my point is that yours is a naive notion of meritocracy. I contend that, whatever its shortcomings, today's South Africa is a genuine "meritocracy". You are run by South Africa's best and brightest --however, South Africa's meritocracy differs from its European counterpart in that it's not enough to be white for the wannabes to make it.... The mere fact that you and other whites cry foul at the South African criteria (of meritocracy) doesn't make any difference. Likewise, non-white minorities in Europe (and the US) protest at the reverse meritocracy that favors whites.... In both cases, it's up to the ruling class to define their meritocratic criteria.Like it or not, merit will always be a changing, evolving, concept.
Gus |
