meritocracy

English

Etymology

merit +‎ -o- +‎ -cracy, coined by British sociologist Alan Fox in 1956 in an article in Socialist Commentary from May 1956, used as a derisive term, and popularized by British sociologist Michael Young, Baron Young of Dartington in his 1958 book The Rise of the Meritocracy.

Pronunciation

• (UK) IPA^(key): /mɛɹɪˈtɒkɹəsi/
• (US) IPA^(key): /mɛɹəˈtɑkɹəsi/

Noun

meritocracy (countable and uncountable, plural meritocracies)

1. Rule by merit and talent.
2. A type of society where wealth, income, and social status are assigned through competition.

Usage notes

Though widely used as a term of praise, the term was originally coined as a satire, and a critique of awarding educational achievement.

Derived terms

• meritocrat
• meritocratic
• mirrortocracy

Translations

rule by merit

• Catalan: meritocràcia f
• Chinese:

  Mandarin: 精英政治 (jīngyīng zhèngzhì), 精英管理 (jīngyīng guǎnlǐ), 任人唯賢／任人唯贤 (zh) (rènrén wéixián), 英才管理 (yīngcái guǎnlǐ)

• Czech: meritokracie f
• Danish: meritokrati n
• Dutch: meritocratie (nl) f
• Finnish: meritokratia (fi)
• French: méritocratie (fr) f
• Georgian: მერიტოკრატია (ka) (meriṭoḳraṭia)
• German: Meritokratie (de) f, Leistungsgesellschaft (de) f
• Greek: αξιοκρατία (el) f (axiokratía)
• Hungarian: meritokrácia (hu)
• Icelandic: gáfumannaveldi n, veldi hæfileikamanna n
• Indonesian: meritokrasi
• Irish: tuilleamhlathas m
• Italian: meritocrazia (it) f
• Japanese: 能力主義 (nōryokushugi)
• Kazakh: меритократия (meritokratiä)
• Kyrgyz: меритократия (meritokratiya)
• Malay: meritokrasi (ms)
• Persian: شایسته‌سالاری (fa) (šâyeste-sâlâri)
• Polish: merytokracja (pl) f
• Portuguese: meritocracia (pt) f
• Punjabi: ਯੋਗਤਾਰਾਜ m (yogtārāj), ਯੋਗਤਾਤੰਤਰ m (yogtātantar)
• Romanian: meritocrație f
• Russian: меритокра́тия (ru) f (meritokrátija)
• Spanish: meritocracia (es) f
• Swedish: meritokrati (sv) c
• Thai: คุณธรรมนิยม (th)
• Turkish: meritokrasi