Political Meritocracy in the 21st Century

Brian Kogelmann

ISBN 10: 1009605844 / ISBN 13: 9781009605847

Edité par Cambridge University Press, 2026

A propos de cet article

Druck auf Anfrage Neuware - Printed after ordering - Political meritocrats believe political power should be allocated according to virtue and competence. It is an old idea, going back at least to Plato. But what is old is new again, as several political philosophers have recently proposed and defended novel articulations of this ancient idea. The purpose of this short monograph is to offer a critical overview of this literature. I cover three schools of thought. I first look at epistocracy, a form of government identical to modern liberal democracies, except voting power is allocated to citizens according to competence. I then turn to Confucian meritocracy, where more blatantly nondemocratic forms of political meritocracy are defended. I finally look at democratic meritocracy, which is the idea that elections either do or could (if they were appropriately reformed) select virtuous and competent leaders. I end by offering reasons to think the entire enterprise of political meritocracy rests on a mistake.

N° de réf. du vendeur 9781009605847

Détails bibliographiques

• Titre: Political Meritocracy in the 21st Century
• Éditeur: Cambridge University Press
• Date de parution: 2026
• Langue: anglais
• ISBN à 10 chiffres: 1009605844
• ISBN à 13 chiffres: 9781009605847
• Reliure: Taschenbuch
• État de l'article: Neu
• Dimensions: 229 L x 152 H x 5 P (en millimètres) 229 millimètres de largeur par 152 millimètres de hauteur par 5 millimètres de profondeur
• Poids: 125 grammes

A propos de ce titre

Synopsis

Political meritocrats believe political power should be allocated according to virtue and competence. It is an old idea, going back at least to Plato. But what is old is new again, as several political philosophers have recently proposed and defended novel articulations of this ancient idea. The purpose of this short monograph is to offer a critical overview of this literature. I cover three schools of thought. I first look at epistocracy, a form of government identical to modern liberal democracies, except voting power is allocated to citizens according to competence. I then turn to Confucian meritocracy, where more blatantly nondemocratic forms of political meritocracy are defended. I finally look at democratic meritocracy, which is the idea that elections either do or could (if they were appropriately reformed) select virtuous and competent leaders. I end by offering reasons to think the entire enterprise of political meritocracy rests on a mistake.