Origins of Meritocracy in China

Abstract

The last century has been marked by a division between the West and East. In particular, since the Second World War, the capitalist and socialist camps have divided the world in terms of culture, economy, politics and ideology. In the West, the ideology of meritocracy has been celebrated for its profound significance. Michael Young first coined the term ‘meritocracy’ in his landmark book, The Rise of Meritocracy (1958), in which he defined merit as ‘IQ plus effort’, and imagined a growing tendency towards meritocracy in educational and occupational selection in modern Britain.