UAP 1024 Lecture Notes - Lecture 18: Meritocracy
29 Mar 2017
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Document Summary
Other variations of the individual theory of poverty ascribe poverty to lack of genetic qualities such as intelligence that are not so easily reversed. The most common line of thought within the u. s. is that a person is poor because of personal traits. These traits in turn have caused the person to fail. Supposed traits range from personality characteristics, such as laziness, to educational levels. it is always viewed as the individual"s personal failure not to climb out of poverty. This thought pattern stems from the idea of meritocracy and its entrenchment within u. s. thought. Meritocracy - the view that those who are worthy are rewarded and those who fail to reap rewards must also lack self-worth. This does not mean that all followers of meritocracy believe that a person in poverty deserves their low standard of living.
