Axiokrati och dess kriterier : En begreppsanalys av Meritokrati

• Main Author: Brengdahl, Martin
• Format: Others
• Language: Swedish
• Published: Uppsala universitet, Statsvetenskapliga institutionen 2018
• Subjects: Meritocracy; justice; symbolic capital; cultural capital; social capital; cultural prerequisites; Meritokrati; Rättvisa; Symboliskt kapital; Kulturellt kapital; Socialt kapital; Kulturella förutsättningar; Political Science (excluding Public Administration Studies and Globalisation Studies); Statsvetenskap (exklusive studier av offentlig förvaltning och globaliseringsstudier)
• Online Access: http://urn.kb.se/resolve?urn=urn:nbn:se:uu:diva-367177

Meritocracy is a much-debated concept in both academia and society in general. Previous studies mostly defined meritocracy in terms of talent and effort. However, even if there exists an academic acceptance of the complexity and the multitude of dimensions of meritocracy in general, little has been said about the cultural prerequisites of meritocracy. This shows a need to be explicit about exactly what is meant by the term ‘meritocracy’. This paper aims to share new light on prerequisites of meritocracy with the help of Pierre Bourdieu’s sociological studies of symbolic capital, with the backdrop understanding of Adam Smith’s theory on necessities. Furthermore, the study aims by adopting a reflexive approach of Bourdieu’s theories, to construct a new theoretical framework, set out to define the phenomena of meritocracy and its cultural prerequisites.