Postliberalism is ambivalent about the language of
meritocracy and social mobility.
The first, meritocracy, is unassailable in principle but in practice can serve to legitimise big increases in inequality, especially in an era when the affluent and well-educated marry each other.
The second, social mobility, rarely pauses to consider the feelings of those who do not climb the ladder.
In a more individualistic and competitive society we are valued by what we have achieved rather than who we are, creating a constant threat of low esteem for the less successful
If you think low self esteem does not matter think of the keg of powder fizzing away in the Banlieue's of Paris and other major French cities.
The first, meritocracy, is unassailable in principle but in practice can serve to legitimise big increases in inequality, especially in an era when the affluent and well-educated marry each other.
The second, social mobility, rarely pauses to consider the feelings of those who do not climb the ladder.
In a more individualistic and competitive society we are valued by what we have achieved rather than who we are, creating a constant threat of low esteem for the less successful
If you think low self esteem does not matter think of the keg of powder fizzing away in the Banlieue's of Paris and other major French cities.
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