Book review: Against Meritocracy: Culture, Power and Myths of Mobility

IF 1.1 Q3 EDUCATION & EDUCATIONAL RESEARCH
Terry Wrigley
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引用次数: 2

Abstract

This is a scholarly and readable book which critically examines the powerful myths of social mobility, particularly in modern Britain. It shows how the strong policy emphasis on social mobility acts as a cover for the growing inequality of neoliberal economies, demanding a ‘cruel optimism’ as young people are expected to climb steeper and ever more slippery ladders. It is an outstanding cultural study, which includes not only an account of the shifting meanings of ‘meritocracy’ but also chapters on how plutocrat celebrities present themselves, the denial of racial disadvantage and the ‘mumpreneur’. It recalls Raymond Williams’ phrase ‘structure of feeling’ in the way it examines the messages and impact of media representations and policy discourses. Chapter 1 traces the shifting use of ‘meritocracy’. Even before Michael Young’s book The Rise of the Meritocracy, socialist researcher Alan Fox used meritocracy as a term of abuse for a society in which excessive rewards are given to ‘the gifted, the smart, the energetic, the ambitious and ruthless’. Young’s book is so clearly intended as a satire, yet very soon ‘meritocracy’ was being used positively. ‘By the 1990s UK’s New Labour had adopted a non-satirical idea of a meritocratic society with gusto’. The discussion includes Arendt, Bell and Foucault. Chapter 2 traces the shift from the compromise of ‘welfare capitalism’ to an increasingly divided neoliberal economy. In the 1960s, social mobility was possible because of an increase in professional and white-collar jobs, but later it would involve replacing those in the upper layers. It is in this context that ‘luminous media fables’ such as The Apprentice appear, showing a ruthless struggle for scarce prizes in which ‘all teamwork is a temporary means to an individualistic end’. The presenter of the UK version Alan Sugar is soon appointed official ‘Enterprise Tsar’, and ruthlessly competitive ingenuity and willpower is presented as a new kind of ‘neoliberal justice narrative’. Chapter 3 continues this historical narrative, showing how, under a Coalition and then Conservative government, an attack on living standards and welfare of poorer sections of society is accompanied by rhetoric about Britain being an ‘Aspiration Nation’. ‘We are the party of the want-to-be better-off’, said Cameron. The casualties of Austerity were then cast as responsible for their own suffering:
书评:反对精英统治:文化、权力和流动性神话
这是一本学术性和可读性强的书,批判性地审视了社会流动性的强大神话,特别是在现代英国。它表明,强调社会流动性的政策是如何掩盖新自由主义经济中日益严重的不平等的,在年轻人被期望攀登更陡峭、更滑的阶梯时,要求一种“残酷的乐观主义”。这是一项杰出的文化研究,其中不仅包括对“精英统治”含义变化的描述,还包括富豪名人如何展示自己、否认种族劣势和“妈妈企业家”的章节。它回顾了雷蒙德·威廉姆斯(Raymond Williams)的短语“感觉结构”(structure of feeling),考察了媒体表述和政策话语的信息和影响。第一章追溯了“精英管理”用法的变迁。早在迈克尔·杨的《精英统治的兴起》一书出版之前,社会主义研究者艾伦·福克斯就把精英统治作为一个贬义词,指的是一个把过度奖励给“有天赋的、聪明的、精力充沛的、雄心勃勃的和冷酷无情的人”的社会。杨的书显然是一种讽刺,但很快“精英主义”就被积极地使用了。“到20世纪90年代,英国的新工党已经欣然接受了精英社会的非讽刺理念。”讨论包括阿伦特、贝尔和福柯。第二章追溯了从“福利资本主义”的妥协到日益分裂的新自由主义经济的转变。在20世纪60年代,由于专业和白领工作的增加,社会流动成为可能,但后来它涉及到取代上层的人。正是在这种背景下,《学徒》(The Apprentice)等“闪亮的媒体寓言”出现了,展现了一场争夺稀缺奖品的残酷斗争,在这场斗争中,“所有的团队合作都是实现个人主义目标的临时手段”。英国版的主持人艾伦·休格很快被任命为官方的“企业沙皇”,无情的竞争创造力和意志力被呈现为一种新的“新自由主义正义叙事”。第三章继续这一历史叙述,展示了在联合政府和保守党政府的统治下,对社会较贫困阶层的生活水平和福利的攻击是如何伴随着英国是一个“有抱负的国家”的言论的。卡梅伦说:“我们是想要过得更好的政党。”紧缩政策的受害者被认为要为他们自己的痛苦负责:
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来源期刊
Improving Schools
Improving Schools EDUCATION & EDUCATIONAL RESEARCH-
CiteScore
5.50
自引率
0.00%
发文量
4
期刊介绍: Improving Schools is for all those engaged in school development, whether improving schools in difficulty or making successful schools even better. The journal includes contributions from across the world with an increasingly international readership including teachers, heads, academics, education authority staff, inspectors and consultants. Improving Schools has created a forum for the exchange of ideas and experiences. Major national policies and initiatives have been evaluated, to share good practice and to highlight problems. The journal also reports on visits to successful schools in diverse contexts, and includes book reviews on a wide range of developmental issues.
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