Meritocracy is Elitism
July 19th, 2011 // 6:01 am @ Oliver DeMille
Modernism dislikes all types of elitism– except for meritocracy.
When elite status is merited, according to this view, it is a good thing.
In such a society, our elites are:
“…made up for the most part of bureaucrats, scientists, technicians, trade-union organizers, publicity experts, sociologists, teachers, journalists, and professional politicians. These people, whose origins lay in the salaried middle class and the upper grades of the working class, had been shaped and brought together by the barren world of monopoly industry and centralized government.”
Cool quote, right?
This was written by George Orwell in his description of Big Brother’s society in Nineteen Eighty-Four.
Some may think that a meritocracy is the same as Thomas Jefferson’s “natural aristocracy,” but in fact the roots of the two are quite different.
In a meritocracy some rise to elite status through their individual merit, which is determined by the institutions of society.
In short, the current elites get to choose their successors—those of merit determine which people in the rising generation are to be people of “merit.”
In contrast, Jefferson’s natural aristocracy rose because of their “virtue, wisdom and service” to humanity.
And the current societal servants don’t choose tomorrow’s natural servants—they arise naturally according to their service.
Meritocracy offers special perks and benefits for those who are accepted by the current generation of elites.
A natural aristocracy looks around, sees needs and gets to work meeting these needs.
Meritocracy is the best way to choose elites (far better than basing it on land ownership or heredity, for example), but elitist society of any kind is far from the best choice.
Leaders arising naturally through genuine merit is a different thing than meritocracy.
Government by the people is a real concept, not just an idealistic dream.
It gave us the most free and prosperous nation and society in history, and it can do so again.
To repeat: merit, not meritocracy.
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Oliver DeMille is a co-founder of the Center for Social Leadership, and a co-creator of Thomas Jefferson Education.
He is the co-author of the New York Times, Wall Street Journal and USA Today bestseller LeaderShift, and author of A Thomas Jefferson Education: Teaching a Generation of Leaders for the 21st Century, and The Coming Aristocracy: Education & the Future of Freedom.
Oliver is dedicated to promoting freedom through leadership education. He and his wife Rachel are raising their eight children in Cedar City, Utah.
Category : Aristocracy &Blog &Citizenship &Culture &Education &Featured &Leadership &Postmodernism
An Old Joke
July 13th, 2011 // 9:01 am @ Oliver DeMille
Just One Wish
A society without adequate entrepreneurship will see little, if any, progress.
Disney’s Aladdin & the Genie
The old Cold War-era joke is told of an American, a Frenchman, and a Russian, lost in the wilderness, who find a lamp and rub it.
Out comes a Genie.
He offers them each one wish, for a total of three.
The American pictures the large ranch owned by the richest people in the valley where he grew up, and wishes for a ranch ten times its size, with flowing streams and meadows full of horses and cattle.
His wish is granted and he is transported home to his new life.
The Frenchman pictures the farm and cattle of the largest estate from his home province, and pictures one just like it.
Again, his wish is granted.
Finally, the Russian pictures the land and herds of the rich family in the steppes where he grew up, and wishes that a drought kill the cattle, dry up the grass, and bankrupt the aristocratic family.
This play on old stereotypes isn’t really very funny, though it brings big laughs with audiences of producers.
They get it.
The Frenchman, thinking like an entrepreneur, wants the good things that life provides, and is willing to go to work to produce them.
The American, who thinks like an entrepreneur and an investor, is willing to go to work also, but wants to see his assets create more value.
The Frenchman wants value, the American plans for value, increased market share and perpetual growth.
In contrast, the stereotypical-punchline “Russian” in this parable can only think of one thing—getting even with those who seem to have more than him.
This is the same as Steve Farber’s lament about the sad state of our modern employee mentality—where “burn your boss” is a slogan of millions of workers who see their employer as the enemy.
Even Washington sometimes likes to join the blame game by pointing fingers at Wall Street, Main Street and everyone in business.
Initiative, vision, effective planning, the wise use of risk, quality execution—all are the contributions of entrepreneurs and investors.
Without them, any society will decline and fall.
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Oliver DeMille is a co-founder of the Center for Social Leadership, and a co-creator of Thomas Jefferson Education.
He is the co-author of the New York Times, Wall Street Journal and USA Today bestseller LeaderShift, and author of A Thomas Jefferson Education: Teaching a Generation of Leaders for the 21st Century, and The Coming Aristocracy: Education & the Future of Freedom.
Oliver is dedicated to promoting freedom through leadership education. He and his wife Rachel are raising their eight children in Cedar City, Utah.
Category : Blog &Business &Culture &Economics &Entrepreneurship &Mini-Factories &Producers &Prosperity
Family Roles
July 9th, 2011 // 4:00 am @ Oliver DeMille
Nothing will have more impact on the future of the world than the future of families.
This truism is sobering as we watch the decline of the family.
As we consider the industrialized world, it is disturbing to note that even amongst those who espouse, promote and live a strong family lifestyle, some of the most basic roles have been lost.
For example, consider the following from an editorial by John Rosemond:
“A journalist recently asked me to name the number one problem facing today’s family. I think she expected me to address education, the economy, or some other “hot” topic. To her surprise, I said, ‘A confusion of roles.’
“In today’s parenting universe, married women with children think of themselves first and foremost as mothers. This is confusion. If you are married with children, you are first and foremost a wife or a husband. In your wedding vows, you did not say, “I take you to be my (husband, wife) until children do us part.” Those vows, many generations old, read the way they do for a reason.
“I’ve been telling recent audiences that parenting has become bad for the mental health of women. Today’s all-too typical mother believes that whether her child experiences success or failure in whatever realm is completely up to her. If she is sufficiently attentive to her child’s needs and sufficiently proactive in his life, he will succeed. If not, he will have problems. The natural consequence of this state of over-focus is anxiety, self-doubt, and guilt.”
Marriage is the central relationship of society, and in society, no roles are more important than husband and wife.
As I talk to young people about their plans for life, career is usually the first thing they mention.
Once in a while, a young man will mention that his main goal is to be a good father, and a little more frequently a young woman will say that she really wants to be a great mother.
But I’ve never heard the following: “I want to be a great wife,” or “my most important goal is to be a great husband.”
This is a concern. In a way, feminism has had moved society by persuading our generation to focus on parenthood even more than marriage.
I’m convinced that most people who say they want to be great parents just assume marriage as part of it. But that’s the problem. Just assuming marriage isn’t enough. It reflects a lack of emphasis on our primary roles.
The future of the world certainly depends on the quality of fathering and mothering in the twenty-first century.
The quality of marriages is even more important. The state of the world ten, twenty, even seventy years from now will be determined by the depth and quality of our marriage relationships. Parenting will largely be determined by the level of success our marriages attain.
The recent politicization of the institution of marriage raises concerns in the minds of virtually everyone, no matter where they stand on the issue.
Of most concern to me is that 64% of married women and 82% of married men responded to a survey in the early 2000’s that they had been unfaithful to their marriage vows.
I see no greater threat to the institution of marriage than the tepid level of commitment of the spouses, and the way they characterize and fulfill their roles.
Marriage is hard work, worthy work–the work of a lifetime. If there is one thing we should teach our youth, it is the value of building a great marriage.
More precisely, we need to teach—by precept and example whenever possible—that “wife” and “husband” are vital roles to society, requiring preparation, consideration, emphasis and great effort.
Once married, these must always be the primary roles of each individual—not secondary to career, social endeavors, or even parenthood.
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Oliver DeMille is a co-founder of the Center for Social Leadership, and a co-creator of Thomas Jefferson Education.
He is the co-author of the New York Times, Wall Street Journal and USA Today bestseller LeaderShift, and author of A Thomas Jefferson Education: Teaching a Generation of Leaders for the 21st Century, and The Coming Aristocracy: Education & the Future of Freedom.
Oliver is dedicated to promoting freedom through leadership education. He and his wife Rachel are raising their eight children in Cedar City, Utah.
Category : Blog &Community &Culture &Current Events &Family &Featured &Generations
Where is Wisdom?
July 8th, 2011 // 7:18 am @ Oliver DeMille
Throughout the history of Western Civilization, a high priority has been placed on Wisdom.
The great classics are the Western world’s repository of wisdom, and the application of wisdom to governance, art, science, business and all fields has resulted in success and progress.
Over time these two children of wisdom (progress and success) started their own traditions and today they are competing schools of thought replete with their own unique literature, institutions and promoters. Unfortunately, both have largely lost touch with their original connection to Wisdom.
In politics, the left is dedicated to progress and the right to success. Nearly everything conservative politics supports is based on the goal of achievement and success, while most of the liberal agenda cares primarily for social progress.
In science and the arts this division fuels the split between artists/scientists and mere marketers, and religion has found a role in modernism partly as a voice against excesses of the search for progress and success.
Professions in business, law, medicine, journalism and education have long been places where leaders could promote success and societal progress, but in recent decades the emphasis on wisdom in the professions has waned.
Attorneys, doctors, professors, journalists and executives are very different people when they are earning than when they are learning, as an attorney friend told me.
As a group, the professions have split—some professionals on the conservative, success-oriented side of the ledger with its focus on achievement and others on the liberal, progressive side and its belief in institutional power and government programs.
The fact that in all of this the goal of a wisdom society is almost lost is a modern tragedy. Unless it is reversed, it will only be the first tragedy of many—societies which lose their focus on seeking and applying wisdom inevitably lose their prosperity, freedoms, strength, power and standard of living.
The likelihood of Washington fixing this problem is very slim—Washington is, in fact, the epicenter of the problem.
The party of progress and the party of success constantly block each other’s goals, ignoring wisdom in a battle which has kept the nation in a rut now for decades.
As a society, we seem to want our political leaders loyally partisan rather than notably wise.
If politicians won’t solve our problem, where will wisdom leadership come from in our society? Go to a major bookstore—a few shelves of success literature are surrounded by many shelves promoting societal progress.
The coffee shop, small reading tables, and dress of the shoppers point to progressive society.
The occasional suit enters briskly, finds what he wants, and exits. Too busy to lounge with the other readers, he often skips the store and sends an assistant or gets his books online.
This description is, by the way, a precise depiction of our university campuses.
The thinking style of life and the active style are too seldom combined, and a result is that wisdom is too often lacking. This needs to change, or the future of freedom will suffer.
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Oliver DeMille is a co-founder of the Center for Social Leadership, and a co-creator of Thomas Jefferson Education.
He is the co-author of the New York Times, Wall Street Journal and USA Today bestseller LeaderShift, and author of A Thomas Jefferson Education: Teaching a Generation of Leaders for the 21st Century, and The Coming Aristocracy: Education & the Future of Freedom.
Oliver is dedicated to promoting freedom through leadership education. He and his wife Rachel are raising their eight children in Cedar City, Utah.
Category : Blog &Citizenship &Culture &Education &Featured
An Answer for our Time
July 7th, 2011 // 3:00 am @ Oliver DeMille
A Book Review of Andy Andrews’
The Final Summit
What one thing would solve the challenges of our time? And who should do that thing—world leaders, scientists, businessmen, artists, religious leaders, parents? Who? And what exactly should they do?
Andy Andrews answers this question brilliantly, and realistically, in his excellent book The Final Summit. I wish every American would read this modern classic—and do something about what they learn.
In most book reviews, I try to outline the main points of the book, share a few highlights, comment on some of the most relevant themes, and otherwise introduce the book—good or bad as it might be.
In this case, I’ll forego the usual commentary since Andrews has already done this work in the Reader’s Guide at the end of the book. All the reader has to do is study this reader’s guide, answer the questions, and have great experience with it.
I do want to say three things about this book.
First, the story of Eric Erickson alone is worth the price of the book. I literally believe that every person who cares about freedom should know this incredible story.
Second, the principles of success covered in the first chapter are one of the most excellent I’ve seen in any business or leadership book. This is truly a great book in the classic sense—worth reading over and over because the reader will learn more valuable and useful lessons each time through.
Third, the story format makes this very important book also very enjoyable. It is a fun read. The first time through, I read it in one afternoon. The second time, I slowed down and spent a morning and afternoon taking notes, looking up additional concepts mentioned in the book, and talking about the ideas with my wife and daughter. This book sparks discussion.
There are many good books in the world. The Final Summit is a great book. It gives a plausible answer to world challenges that all of us should deeply consider, and it points the finger squarely at the exact people who can—and must—fix our modern world. The fact that the people we’ll all depend on to overcome the world’s challenges are…but I’m giving away the punchline. Read the book. Then give it to others to read! And most importantly, think seriously about what your role should be in fixing the world as Andrews suggests.
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Oliver DeMille is a co-founder of the Center for Social Leadership, and a co-creator of Thomas Jefferson Education.
He is the co-author of the New York Times, Wall Street Journal and USA Today bestseller LeaderShift, and author of A Thomas Jefferson Education: Teaching a Generation of Leaders for the 21st Century, and The Coming Aristocracy: Education & the Future of Freedom.
Oliver is dedicated to promoting freedom through leadership education. He and his wife Rachel are raising their eight children in Cedar City, Utah.
Category : Blog &Book Reviews &Culture &Leadership &Postmodernism &Statesmanship
