Meritocracy does it really exist?

This essay I wrote in my first year of my planning degree. If you work hard will you always succeed? Well i believe it is true, if you put your mind to what you want to achieve you will. This essay explains my argument. I use one my favorite books to illustrate my answer too.

Introduction
Meritocracy is an important idea in today’s society. It refers to the belief that social rewards of prestige and income are distributed based on merit and not by predetermined social categories (McLennan, 2004). “Work hard and you will succeed”, is a statement based on meritocracy or the belief of an individuals effort to become someone despite their social mobility.
This is a true statement, which can be seen through two individuals lives; Rabbit in the movie 8 Mile (2002) and Li Cunxin in the memoir Mao's Last Dancer (2003). Both of the young individuals have come from a low economic status. Social mobility, the movement of groups from one level to another, (Newman, 2002) seemed minimal from the audiences' point of view and everything, even the world seemed against them. With Rabbit's and Li's determination, motivation and ambitious approach to get out of the state they were in with their families they pushed themselves to the top. They battled through the obstacles that stopped them from reaching their goals, and this shows no matter what social class you belong to, if you work hard you will succeed.
This essay will look at how Rabbit and Cunxin succeeded in their lives, and how many other people are doing the same to get out of the poverty cycle. Both case studies are based in America therefore it will also look at how both individuals see America as the “Land of Opportunity”.

Succeeding Though Low Socio-economic Conditions
8 Mile is set in Detroit, America during the 90s when the automobile industry left Detroit as it was cost effective for them to manufacture in Mexico. People lost their jobs and the city fell apart. The title of the movie refers to the Eight Mile Road, which forms the boundary between African Americas, and the cities mostly white northern suburbs. The term 8 Mile therefore represents a barrier that is difficult to cross in Detroit.

Rabbit, is a young man trying to make his way out of the burned-out shell of inner city Detroit (8 Mile, Hanson, 2002). He struggles with every aspect of his life, and wants to make the most of what could be his final opportunity. However, the problems around him give him doubts about his chances of success. Everything around him is diminishing away. There seemed to be no hope for Rabbit as he has been trapped into the low social class and for him to move up through the stratification levels would be impossible. The fact that there is no hope in Detroit anymore due to the mass movement of businesses out of the city makes the economy hard to run and it fails dramatically.

Looking at Rabbit as an individual living in Detroit at this time, we see a young man who wants to get out of there and become someone. “Do you ever wonder at what point you got to stop living up here and start living down here?” This quote by Rabbit shows that he is thinking and talking to his friends about a better life and how it would be to live on the other side of 8 Mile. This also links back to the American Dream and how America is seen as the “land of opportunity”."The American Myth still supposes that any individual from the humblest origins can climb to well-being" (Shipler, D.K. 2005). This quote from Shipler (2005) is clearly describing the environment Rabbit is in. It is far from perfect but due to the American Myth, Rabbit can still succeed if he puts his mind to it. Rabbit does succeed, he wins a rap competition. Today he is a famous rapper who has come from having nothing to having everything he desires. He succeeded because he has worked hard not because he paid his way through.

Succeeding Through Cultural and Traditional Barriers
Mao's Last Dancer is set in Qingdao China during the time China was a Communist country. Li Cunxin is an inspirational individual who worked hard to get out of the bitter poverty cycle he and his family were in. The poverty in his home town of Qingdao was so bad that at times they did not have enough food to eat so they had to eat tree bark to survive. What kept his family of nine going was the love from the parents and the support for their children.

Ever since Li was young, he always had hope for the future. He always thought positively no matter what was going on around him. An important quote from his memoir was when he said, “Secretly I had a dream that one day I would be able to sing and do the Kung Fu steps at the opera”. However, he never shared his dream with anyone. This was because he knew they would just say he is dreaming and his “Life lay in the commune fields as a labourer”.

When he got chosen to go to Mao's Beijing Dance Academy to become a ballet dancer, he and his community were overwhelmed. Li was 11 when he left home, this was his first step out of the poverty cycle and he started his seven-year dance course. He practiced his pirouettes and leaps night and day as he wanted to accomplish his dream to become the best ballet dancer in the world. He knew that he could not turn back to his parents as they always said, “Work hard and make a life of your own. There is nothing here except starvation and struggle”. This quote goes back to the statement, “Work hard and you will succeed”. It shows that his parents and even Li believed in it. They believed, if Li does really well in the dance academy that he will eventually be able to help his family.

Li knew he was the only hope for his family so they can get out of the socio-economic status that they were in. Li did extremely well. He ended up going to America to dance and there he stayed to become a famous dancer. He helped his family economically and they had more food on the table every night. Li became one of the top ballet dancers in the world and he had accomplished his dream. This blend of affect and morality rests on the assumed importance of values such as individual self-reliance, obedience, discipline and hard work, (Augoustinos, M. Tuffins, K. and Every, D. 2005). This all goes back to the idea of meritocracy and the statement if you work hard you will succeed. In addition, it also reflects the fulfillment of the American Dream that anything is possible if you put your mind to it.

Succeeding Through a Positive Attitude
The task of Sociology Imagination is to help us view our lives as the intersection between personal biography and societal history, to provide a means for us to interpret our lives and social circumstances, (Newman, D.M. 2002). This idea means that everything depends on the person’s attitude. No matter what circumstances they are in, if they want to succeed then they will. People have done it before and continue to do so. We have to remember that there are people worse off than us and people that are better off. If we compare ourselves with others, it should hopefully make us want to work harder as we want to be better off. This is what happened in Rabbit's and Cunxin's lives. Even though many factors such as social mobility, education, socio-economic conditions, and health were against them, they still managed to succeed as they were determined to move up the stratification levels of class. “Having the right attitude” is associated with qualities such as being ambitious, energetic, motivated, and trustworthy. It may also involve more subtle traits such as good judgment, and a sense of personal responsibility, (McNamee, S. and Miller, R. 2004). This all goes back to the person’s attitude towards life and how they cope with difficult situations. It also goes back to the statement “Work hard and you will succeed”, as the two individuals had the right attitude to get themselves out of the low socio-economic conditions and many more people today are doing the same.

Conclusion
Overall, meritocracy is an important idea in today’s society and it can be seen in the two individuals’ lives, Rabbit and Cunxin. Meritocracy is based on the statement “Work hard and you will succeed”. Individual factors better explain the visual success as we can examine them much more easily than we can examine environmental factors. If people work hard, and have the right attitude the likely chances of them succeeding despite everything else is very high. An important quote that can symbolise this is, “Success only comes before work in the dictionary”.

Reference List
Augoustinos, M. Tuffins, K. and Every, D. (2005) New racism, meritocracy and individualism: constraining affirmative action in education, Discourse & Society, vol 13(3): pp 315- 340

Cunxin, L. (2003) Mao's Last Dancer, Australia: Penguin.

Curtis, H. (2002) 8 Mile, America: Universal Studios.

McLennan, G. Ryan, A. and Spoonley, P. (2004) Exploring Society: Sociology for New Zealand Students, 2nd Ed. Auckland: Pearson Education New Zealand.

McNamee, S. and Miller, R. (2004) The Meritocracy Myth, Rowman & Littlefield Publishers, Inc, United States of America.

Newman, D. and Harper, D. (2002a) The Sociological Imagination [Excerpt], in Sociology: Exploring the Architecture of Everyday Life, Thousand Oaks: Pine Forge Press, 8-9.

Shipler, D.K. (2005) The Working Poor: Invisible in America, (1st Vintage Books ed.). New York: Vintage Books.