Clear Quote by Kate Reardon

We don't have to sit by and watch our meritocracy be replaced by a permanent aristocracy, and our democracy be undermined by dynastic wealth.

— Robert Reich

Our modern democratic ideal is based on the hope that inequalities will be based on merit more than inheritance or luck.

— Thomas Piketty

Any attempt to redress the inequities and injustices that plague our society has to start with the reality that we will never live in…

— Dawn Foster

That the actual practice of meritocracy mostly involves a strenuous quest to avoid any kind of downward mobility, for oneself or for one's kids,…

— Ross Douthat

The rich feel full of merit.

— Mason Cooley

You will always find that those are most apt to boast of national merit, who have little or not merit of their own to…

— Oliver Goldsmith

“At its most basic, the logic of 'meritocracy' is ironclad: putting the most qualified, best equipped people into the positions of greates responsibility and…

— Christopher Hayes

“Moved by the need for control, for an unchallenged top tier, the power elite in American history has thrived by placating the vulnerable and…

— Nancy Isenberg

An hereditary aristocracy... will change the form of our governments from the best to the worst in the world.

— Thomas Jefferson

“From the late 19th century until the 1970s, the advanced societies of the West were all becoming less unequal. Thanks to progressive taxation, government…

— Tony Judt

The modern world is very wealthy, it's full of options. It's not like "This is the land I was born on and I have…

— Ian Bogost

Meritocracy is our social ideal, particularly among good liberals. Equality of opportunity, but not of outcome. Not evaluating people by their [outside] features, but…

— Chris Hayes