Meritokratijos raidos ypatumai: diskurso ir funkcionavimo pokyčiai
The Evolution of Meritocracy: Changes in Discourse and Functioning

Summary/Abstract: Meritocracy is a social system in which a person’s social status depends on their merits. In the second half of the 20th century, meritocracy experienced significant changes in discourse and functioning, which led to its transformation into a favorable and desired system, in which the mechanisms implementing it, the actors responsible for its implementation, and the dominant ideology surrounding it changed. The article aims to reveal the most important changes in meritocracy that have taken place since the middle of the 20th century. It discusses the differences between the early meritocratic and the neoliberal meritocratic discourse, as well as the changes that have occurred and the predictions that have come true regarding the functioning of meritocracy. The article argues that a large-scale transformation has taken place, which includes changes in the meritocratic discourse, institutional roles, the strength of democracy, the specifics of the implementation of meritocracy, ideological functions of meritocracy, the concept of social justice, the extent of income inequality, the depoliticization of meritocracy, and the vulnerability of the individual.

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