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"'i'li ,1

General PaPer
JC2 Preliminary Examination
Paper 2 lnsert

This ansert consists of 2 printed paqes

-IheEconomisr'ssuryeyoffalenit|oclotr.j(7Ih2006)examinestheimpactofglobalmefilocracy-

Young' a British sociologist and


ln'The Rise of the Meritocracy" published in 1958 Michael wtth lalenl date wds
obsF5sed
i'ot't p"'r" 'ai"*r' rmaqc ol a socrely _fhe
;6:;:'#';il;',&#'n,i "onl"i'p'n
#'r*"0 trie art or ro restins Bur tar rrom promorrns ''""'ar
i,,,*i"v,"'ri"'p,*"Lp.rion ;irh tarenr.had prod,:ff
talent war were doubly unhappy' consdo(
;:1fl"?.;:l:T,,[.' l';"fi"itrl5,
asainsl therr maslers ll'lalenl"-owed mor€ lo
I olJ.JioG irnu,".l rventuitiv ttrev revonednsi"sled lhen rewardrng people for therr lalenl
i]irr. tt"n nun*., u" many .oiiat scienlistspnvileged parerds)
I
*r" i".i"..r.t t" i"*"rdirE them for having
the way Much of this resenlrn-ent focuses
I There ar;denty of signs that another baclJash is on
the bonds of sociely.to tO
I on qrowinq inequalities eeopte.ompra'n rt'ir tnese are slraining ghetlos and-running the
h6'! in^ Mint, new anslocracv oi taled ;; telrealrng tnlo golden
the vrces or arrstoc'acv
I :ffi:i:#S"'fi#l'J'ff;iJ;,;:':i;' rarented
an
r;ain manv
American
or
hisrooan rn one o( the besr
in'iJriil the late chrisrophel LasLh
set the most
"r-.t,i!t: "iia rosii ot t"r"nt
],l:d ;il?J;t meritosatic the most taiented
rewards. But the reality of"o..oo."v
'"* 's
us"iitnnrn, tt e peopt. can us" tt'.ir polil|cal power as 75

I '.
wrote hls book lnequaldFs are
ln some ways things are worse lhan they were when Young .
early 2oth-century levels and
-"J \/via"r'_ m rr,lir, emerica ano crrina ttrev are retumingio
I liiili'ii}i J'rii,' ii'ii!-glob,l v'uns'" i';b'l" can nq; add Ftriotism to. esalitadanism
20
samuel Huntington, a political scrent'st, ;;;;; ;;i "
'maior gap is growng.in Arnerica
public'
between it's indeasingly denatronalised "iG-c itt "th;nk-God fot.l'merica allows
portanu sr<itrs nop iiom lob to job and think lheir branpowet have
I fi;;;r.;"; il;";iri stones their€mplovers
il;";;il'i,i;;;i;r, Lut in ,earlv' ma'nv are'walkins on the
the targels of choice
.nnvehier{lv Dlaced below tfrem. ncross mu'ch Jf tre de'veloprng woria'
I ff;fiifi:i'ff;;i;Jlii"a 'i"t''"t 'ti'"r" 'inl'iii'" 'na'r"'!isn"" 'u,,.'.,, ;,'
polarised social hierarch{.are beins t i

l4 The link bebdeen talent and inequality, and the ensumg"peopte


to ctuster wether. You might
continually reififorced. Ther" i" t"noenJ ot Lt"niea
i and
"
have thought lhal the advent of the rntemel ioiJf'"u"
rnt *nneciion between p{ace
"tif"a b""au"e thgy f9{-ofieatft
talenl ln faci, the oppo"it e n"ppun'nn "-v Ji'"iti iogett"t t* su-ting. ino"asinsly 30
othe/s intellect And the paces "n"* Ee'liiiilt it iitt"i
Jr"'-ce t"orf'ers at tfre Uottom and nothing rnuch in-
unequal, s/ith the talent elite at the top,
I bett /een The middle lav", i" tu,ns o"utniui;y-"fy-ttistt
ttoutt p'io"
"nd
low{ualitv public
schools.

MembeGofihe{alentelitearegoodalh€ginghumancapjtal'.They,marry.peoplelike
rnarry ttreir secretaries; now th€y maffy
35
themselves- ln the heyday ot 'company men;' Binfets 'talent
o{her bankers. rhey woa in pu, rnrr intell;dual capital. They. live .in
"ijt'tl-ir,"ii fei alone inner-city gtredos Above all
eoctaves,, avvay ,rom ordinary .iOOf".frJJ "rUr,l.,
f'om the lop income quartile
thev oass on therr advantages t" *r,_.r,ir0.... ita.nts 3so/o in 1s76 to 50% in 1ee5
li'LJ.ii"Ju "#" "ipi,*il" al" n'"'i""'i "*"oiri"' r'o'
counlties' the same thing is happeninq m
lhe l0
I None o{ thrs is pecular lo Amenca or olher nch
ii"ir,ilriJ-*l,aili "".n star(erlorm u"r"* i"r"'r try hard to.sive their 'nildren
on. ,.ont o""tJi"r
'iG' "hre
in China 'Harvard Girl"' tells the story of two
i""" J""'"iii. "o""ti.gu

J
parents who trained their dauahter fo; H:rvard.
from birth, banaging her wiih verbal siimuti,
\ubjpcling lr-r ro a srr"nuous r-.Srm- ol home srudv

::::^"n:",*i, ?il?,:
dy and mrt,nd
making hp,
is.R€nr;s Jl]nior coleq. i" i;;";;;;
!u.i_ tong distances. An
her swim
;;.';; i;:;J.i:X:tr;"?ll I
schools at gettang students into Amerjcan tvy Lergr. ,"i"J;jti."

But in other ways_things have got much better


The number
wds rn 1958. In younq s dav rhe ma.i,ocrats ..""..,,,r"J of winners is now rarger
o" ,"#i. 'i.i rhan ir I
and the senior crvit service. rhe resr wpre tabe'ed
r"irr,*. ;i";:
"pitriin
i;;;: ;";;'lno "rorion"
nu,o*
have created a mass heher e.j,,.jr,." syvem.. ano
fottow suit When younq;as deveropidd;;;;;;Jlrrined
wrilino ch,na and tnora were tLpi.-d in
growing so fast that thby, too, are siiferrng po""rtv.iio",
-iPer\rr'
to so
rwud: rt.V ,"
I
trom ratonrshortaq-'
. Moreover, some paoblems could prove selt correclng
tobs and weatrh, they tum rheir hands r. ph anth,opi,
Many talented people nol only create
*
eir G"i;iijiil#; jdf"r h*"
I
done.lThe growinq retlrns to edreridn create incentives
educared, producir€ a bener-lrained wofrdorce
f"|. p..pi. i. g"i inemsetves ss
spend moe on education than on envrhing. etse,
companies routinety promore tocar tah;r injhe
*"rr
". Oespir.
,p*.io L-"5ii"itv]irtiiii, ,"rir,""
"" tire one_*ira''poiicyi U,in,n"tion"r
d."el";.s;l;: ;;j; li
I
elhnic fac€-on the global talent efite overheated talent Ji"Llr",n",ri-
markets p.ompi companies to move
production etsewhere
Silicone Valley.
- ro Mvsore rarhcr rhan Br^s"to,u, ;y,';,'l;irJ"ffjlE"., ,r,an uo rl
o
1^1':
accepl :11'.|:': :.:r."thing appealins aboul.the
wde rnequalities if thev are collntFd

people favour income redistribution


mFr ouatic ideat: most peopte are
with equatity of opporrunity t"
lhirds oJ the popuration befie;e lhar everyone has an
w ing to
itn.lll i,".. *"
equar chance to ger ahead, rar fewer
I
than i; Europe.
t0 Growng weallh also means lhat so.jFtv can reward a
sports.stars and €ntertainers can make ;iflions. rt"."
wider range of talenls, These days,
irnliu-rrJ"ii""io'r'li *n" o,
.*Jl_i.iiw*ii"iJn"n"1
65
I
speciatised tatents, fiom the oiff of h.inding. his{o.y
the-abiti{y to produce a perfoa souffi6 (-rhe-besrp;io
$16m last year). lt sometmes seems lhat lirere rs no tatent
a livins oul of it. Takeru -rsunami- Kobayashi e"-"
"r"1"iitr,oi"
ro m. "Lo
J.rl" nir.il','w.rd.,.J
so re@ndite that you "l"d "".*
t

cannot make ZO
I
rno." ir,"n ii6ij]dii'JrJ""i"Iii.
-'-- *.n0,"
11
holclog ealing champion: he can eat mor;
than 50 in 12 mrnutqs
The best way to head off a backlash is fd give
--

everybody a fair chance. This means investing


I
in.chitdhood nutrition and pre-schoot educaiion.
#;;;;l;;;.'#J.""1.,,n.
educalional radder Deveroping counrries need
pflmary education: failure to do so
ft .tso
to conrinue rhe march rowards unversar zs
wilt exacerbate sk strortages as wlli ,ial"j""or"ni""
I
Developed count.ies need to toughen up

rom sctence snd mathematics. The chbf vic[ms o{


eduFlion
"r,itir[-
""
lheir schoots. h lh; 1-96i;;l;-r.nl"Jt"ol,"
lor,!,ering-standards in..the name-of chite_cenrred
riiJ,iffii1i"
;ii;"
"nOu"a".pi"iusJ
*.,"
"*"y
,l
could nol rely on thejr parents to make up ior
this ! /ere ,h"
lhe deficiencies of lheir sihools: A0
72 The success of advan@d economies is increasingly
but on their capacity to mobitise their ciucns'
1943 [Mnston churchifi observed that'untike
dependent nol on their physical cap at
tratd6;;:i,;;;;;;i ilit',liT!",tv
the uripiru" or th.-i""t,l'hi""iiit. riiri" *u o.
i"
I
13
empires of the mind.' He might have added rhat
telcnt
The rise of a global meritoqacy otfers all sorts
the banres .i it.l i"irl *iii o" r"itr." r..
85 I
of benefits, from higher growth in productvrly to
lasler-scienlific progress. r ca; boost sociar
rdrerirs Io oroom the talenl wars mav be
mobirity and a[ow e[-sorts"ot weiJ lnc wonoertut
a source of Unhappiness for mmpanies and
F
counlries. 8.rt they should also be a cau;e

t
lor cetebralton.

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