Emma Kast examines the relationship between the idea of the meritocracy and capitalism. “Free labor,” “fair trade,” and abolition affirm the humanity and freedom of individuals and the justice of equal exchange. Yet, alongside these egalitarian ideals is the rise of meritocracy, a competitive hierarchy in an individualist market order in which everyone can share in the dream of rising to the top through their own labor. Though meritocratic ideals can be viewed as emancipatory, they also affirm a “necro-economics” in which only some can succeed, while others must fail. Most work on meritocracy treats it as a twentieth century concept. In contrast, Merit and the Market: Capitalism and the Political Economy of Deservingness is the first to locate its deeper history in the writings of heterodox figures such as Adam Smith, Karl Marx, W.E.B. Du Bois, and F.A. Hayek, revealing how the notion of deservingness according to labor contribution is both embraced and challenged in the history of economic thought. Understanding how this logic of merit creates the pathologies of daily modern life helps us envision new horizons of struggle beyond the goal of a more perfect meritocracy.

Emma J. Kast is visiting scholar in political economy in the Department of Society, Culture, and Thought at Bennington College, USA.