or
Sign in to turn on 1-Click ordering.
 
 
More Buying Choices
17 used & new from £14.58
Have one to sell? Sell yours here
 
   
The Rise of the Meritocracy (Classics in Organization and Management Series)
 
See larger image 
Share your own customer images
Publisher: learn how customers can search inside this book.

The Rise of the Meritocracy (Classics in Organization and Management Series) (Paperback)

by Michael Young (Author)
5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
RRP: £20.50
Price: £17.01 & this item Delivered FREE in the UK with Super Saver Delivery. See details and conditions
You Save: £3.49 (17%)
o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o
Usually dispatched within 3 to 5 weeks.
Dispatched from and sold by Amazon.co.uk. Gift-wrap available.

11 new from £14.58 6 used from £18.92
Other Editions: RRP: Our Price: Other Offers:
Paperback (New impression) 10 used & new from £9.50
12 Days of Christmas Sale in Books
12 Days of Christmas Sale in Books
Get up to 65% off some of our top titles. Shop now

Special Offers and Product Promotions

Frequently Bought Together

Customers buy this book with The Rise and Rise of Meritocracy (Political Quarterly Special Issues) by Geoff Dench

The Rise of the Meritocracy (Classics in Organization and Management Series) + The Rise and Rise of Meritocracy (Political Quarterly Special Issues)
Price For Both: £36.00

One of these items is dispatched sooner than the other. Show details

Customers Who Bought This Item Also Bought

The Whitsun Weddings (Faber Poetry)

The Whitsun Weddings (Faber Poetry)

by Philip Larkin
4.5 out of 5 stars (12)  £5.36
Room at the Top

Room at the Top

by John Braine
4.0 out of 5 stars (6)  £5.23
The Drought (Paladin Books)

The Drought (Paladin Books)

by J.G. Ballard
3.6 out of 5 stars (8)  £4.98
The Lonely Londoners (Penguin Modern Classics)

The Lonely Londoners (Penguin Modern Classics)

by Sam Selvon
4.8 out of 5 stars (5)  £5.12
The Ballad of Peckham Rye (Penguin Modern Classics)

The Ballad of Peckham Rye (Penguin Modern Classics)

by Muriel Spark
4.5 out of 5 stars (2)  £5.84
› Explore similar items

Product details

  • Paperback: 180 pages
  • Publisher: Transaction Publishers; 2nd Revised edition edition (31 Jan 1994)
  • Language English
  • ISBN-10: 1560007044
  • ISBN-13: 978-1560007043
  • Product Dimensions: 22.4 x 15.2 x 1.5 cm
  • Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
  • Amazon.co.uk Sales Rank: 221,224 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

    •  Would you like to update product info or give feedback on images?

Suggested Tags from Similar Products

 (What's this?)
Be the first one to add a relevant tag (keyword that's strongly related to this product)
 
universalism
merit
england
elite privilege

Your tags: Add your first tag
 
See most popular tags

What Do Customers Ultimately Buy After Viewing This Item?

The Rise of the Meritocracy (Classics in Organization and Management Series)
87% buy the item featured on this page:
The Rise of the Meritocracy (Classics in Organization and Management Series) 5.0 out of 5 stars (2)
£17.01
The Rise and Rise of Meritocracy (Political Quarterly Special Issues)
4% buy
The Rise and Rise of Meritocracy (Political Quarterly Special Issues)
£18.99
The Rise of the Meritocracy 1870-2033: An Essay on Education and Equality (Pelican books)
3% buy
The Rise of the Meritocracy 1870-2033: An Essay on Education and Equality (Pelican books)
Look Back in Anger
3% buy
Look Back in Anger 4.0 out of 5 stars (3)
£5.36
Explore similar items
 

Customer Reviews

2 Reviews
5 star:
 (2)
4 star:    (0)
3 star:    (0)
2 star:    (0)
1 star:    (0)
 
 
 
 
 
Average Customer Review
5.0 out of 5 stars (2 customer reviews)
 
 
 
 
Share your thoughts with other customers:
Most Helpful Customer Reviews

 
5 of 6 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars A Powerful, Polemical Warning About Our Society!!!, 20 Sep 2008
By Mr. G. Hassan "The Bungo Boy" (Glasgow, Scotland) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   
This review is from: The Rise of the Meritocracy,1870-2033: an Essay on Education and Equality (Paperback)
A bold, powerful, wonderful book: part satire, part a look into the future, and part a warning about where we are.

Michael Young's life is a rich and varied one filled with commitment and engagement and this 1958 essay is a milestone in a life filled wth them.

This book is written in a future Britain 2033 - which in many regards does not look that different from the present day. There are no real differences between the parties. The Labour Party as we understand it has been abolished. Education is everything in terms of getting on. Tests and measuring ability are the governing credo.

And yet this future world is not a fairer or happier place. Instead, those who are the winners in this world do so because of a narrower and narrower notion of 'ability' and 'merit' - which they see as virtuous and because they are somehow better. Seeing their individual success as a validation of their skills they see their lifestories as a success, and those who do not make it a failure.

Funnily enough, power, money and politics congregate around this 'new class', while the excluded majority - are leaderless and have no political party to represent them in the way the working class was once represented by Labour. It is in this respects Young argues that Labour is dead, and that his essay - forty years before the event - foretold the story of New Labour and its ultimate demise.

Fascinatingly, Young's essay has been completely misunderstood by not just Thatcher's children, but Wilson's before her, and Blair's children to come look likely to do the same. Young gave the the world the concept of 'meritocracy', but Thatcher/Blair et al, have consistently seen it as a positive concept when it is anything but. To Young, 'meritocracy' was the process by which the 'new class' validated its power and position.

It is no accident that our politicians go on about 'meritocracy' and shed crocodile tears for the demise of social mobility, and fail to understand their part in aiding, reinforcing and legitimising this state of affairs.

This book is one of the most original, fascinating and challenging written about 20th century Britain and the problems and dangers in society and politics today.

Rather than reading 'Blink' or 'Nudge' - the second rate soundbite sloganeering which passes for thought in our political classes today - why not read a really provoking book?
Comment Comment | Permalink | Was this review helpful to you? Yes No (Report this)



 
2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars Recommended reading for anyone interested in social class, 19 Nov 2008
By J. Goddard "Jim Goddard" (Shipley) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   
A very important book. Little read nowadays, which is such a shame. Published in the late 1950s as a prophetic warning (set in 2033) of the dangers of meritocracy, Young's dystopian vision has uncanny resonances with the fate of the modern Labour Party and labour movement. To read it whilst living under the post-1997 Labour governments was an unnerving experience. There is a rich and sad irony that Young's coining of the term 'meritocracy' was pejorative. He saw the pursuit of meritocracy as a dead end for the left. However, it became a goal lauded by politicians in precisely the way in which Young feared. To hear Gordon Brown declare increased social mobility as his chief goal is to sense Young groaning in despair from beyond the grave. However, Young's humanity also shines through. One notices his keen awareness of the despair and lack of self-esteem of those left at the bottom of the meritocratic pile. The key thing, though, is that Young correctly identifies the cause and doesn't pull any punches. Social criticism at its best.
Comment Comment | Permalink | Was this review helpful to you? Yes No (Report this)


Share your thoughts with other customers: Create your own review
 
 
 
Only search this product's reviews


Customer Discussions

This product's forum
Discussion Replies Latest Post
No discussions yet

Ask questions, Share opinions, Gain insight
Start a new discussion
Topic:
First post:
Prompts for sign-in
 


Active discussions in related forums
   
Related forums

Listmania!

Create a Listmania! list

Look for similar items by category

Look for similar items by subject





















i.e., each product must be in subject 1 AND subject 2 AND ...

Feedback

Ad

Your Recent History

 (What's this?)

After viewing product detail pages or search results, look here to find an easy way to navigate back to pages you are interested in.