Generally, merit refers to the state of deserving well or even ill. It is a reward which is commensurate to the preceding actions of the person receiving it. It can also be explained as the fruit of ones actions. Various opinions have come up to affirm as well as disapprove the strict use of merit as the only yardstick to measuring the nature as well as measure of reward to be received by a person.
Pojman greatly contributes to the debate on the use of merit. He argues that we should strive to form a world in which the virtuous are awarded and the vicious punished in proportion to their relative desert. This statement implies that the world should strive to achieve a perfectly leveled ground where people earn their rewards purely based on the effort they put in their action and nothing else.
I agree with this argument, unfortunately, the world is and has never been a level playing ground for all. Many undeserving people have been rewarded either positively or negatively. This results from the inefficiencies inherent in the world systems.
Merit in the world is highly valued and applied in many areas of our society. Hiring of employees both in the public and the private sector is expected to be on merit in terms of the qualifications achieved; People who commit crime are taken to court in an attempt to make them pay for their actions; hardworking and dedicated employees are promoted and awarded bonuses whereas the lazy ones are demoted.
In this regard, the hardworking dedicated and talented trainee at the workplace deserves the job and not the bosses’ son. Indeed, I agree with Pojmans assertion that “Every action in the world has an equal response” and that “wrong actions must be followed by bad results while good actions must be followed by good results. This is the only fair mode of interaction for humanity.
This paper seeks to point out certain areas that may be well intended but do not serve justice fairly among all humanity. To this end, the focus will be on the unfairness and inequalities present in the world and how they affect the victims.
Leun practically warned Mongolian leadership that for people to live in peace, freedom and prosperity, equality and fairness are cardinal requirements. People will always feel cheated and disenfranchised when the leadership is seen to employ favors in the management of national affairs. Many revolutions around the world have been triggered by perceived employment of other criteria such as race, tribe or political affiliation in the distribution of resources (Louis, 1997, p. 549). To date, great strides have been made in ensuring merit is the key driver of political appointments especially in the U.S. This has been achieved through strengthening of institutions as well as employing elaborate recruitment processes in hiring public servants. Questions though still emerge on the recruitment process as well as tendering processes by the government. Well connected individuals continue to be appointed to high offices at the expense of more able and qualified people.
Pojman argues that affirmative action is an unfair system. He points out that offering a job to a woman just because she is female while leaving out a man who may even be better qualified amounts discrimination. In line with this, certain U.S laws have been crafted to favor black people in the tendering processes as well as in hiring. When a black person wins a tender or secures a job leaving out a white person who is equally qualified, the implication is that the system is not based on merit but race.
In view of these examples it is clear that merit should be the one and only consideration in rewarding people in whichever areas of engagement. The world should therefore strive to get rid of the vices which encroach into the systems leading to undeserved rewards such as cronyism, corruption, tribalism and racism.
I however wish to state that much as I agree wish to point out that the merit system is very idealist. Certain circumstances are unique and demand that the rules of merit are bent in order to ensure a certain critical goal is met. Classical examples are in matters dealing with security and privacy. The president cannot appoint an untrustworthy but very qualified person as the security chief. This is a recipe for disaster despite the high qualification. Still in, those entrusted with confidential matters are not necessarily the ones who worked hard and got the highest grades but those who can be trusted. In other cases though, focus should constantly be on merit and not any other characteristic in order to build a more cohesive society.
Reference List
Leun, S. (2009). Fairness and equality the way to peace. Web.
Louis, P. (1999). Equality and Desert. Journal of Philosophy. Vol. 72, issue, 2, pp. 549-570. Web.
Pojman, L (2006). Terrorism, human rights, and the case for world. New York: Rowman and Littlefield publishers.