Against meritocracy : culture, power and myths of mobility / Jo Littler.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Littler, Jo, 1972- author.

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Power (Social sciences).

Plutocracy.

Social mobility.

Physical Description:

1 online resource (251 pages) : illustrations

Place of Publication:

London, [England] ; New York, New York : Routledge, 2018.

Language Note:

English

Summary:

In this book Jo Littler argues that meritocracy is the key cultural means of legitimation for contemporary neoliberal culture - and that whilst it promises opportunity, it in fact creates new forms of social division. Against Meritocracy is split into two parts. Part I explores the genealogies of meritocracy within social theory, political discourse and working cultures. It traces the dramatic U-turn in meritocracy's meaning, from socialist slur to a contemporary ideal of how a society should be organised. Part II uses a series of case studies to analyse the cultural pull of popular 'parables of progress', from reality TV to the super-rich and celebrity CEOs, from social media controversies to the rise of the 'mumpreneur'. Paying special attention to the role of gender, 'race' and class, this book provides new conceptualisations of the meaning of meritocracy in contemporary culture and society.

Contents:

part, I Genealogies / Jo Littler

chapter Introduction

Ladders and snakes / Jo Littler

chapter 1 Meritocracy’s genealogies in social theory / Jo Littler

chapter 2 Rising up

Gender, ethnicity, class and the meritocratic deficit / Jo Littler

chapter 3 Meritocratic feeling

The movement of meritocracy in political rhetoric / Jo Littler

part, II Popular parables / Jo Littler

chapter 4 Just like us?

Normcore plutocrats and the popularisation of elitism / Jo Littler

chapter 5 #Damonsplaining and the unbearable whiteness of merit / Jo Littler

chapter 6 Desperate success

Managing the mumpreneur / Jo Littler

chapter Conclusion

Beyond neoliberal meritocracy / Jo Littler.

Notes:

Includes bibliographical references and index.

CC BY-NC-ND

Description based on online resource; title from PDF title page (EBook Central, viewed February 13, 2024).

ISBN:

1-03-252202-X

1-317-49604-3

1-317-49603-5

1-315-71280-6

9781315712802

OCLC:

993991360

Access Restriction:

Unrestricted online access