Colloquium in February 2026
Sang-soo Chang (Sunchon University)
Meritocracy is not a concept that explains the inequality, but an ideology that justifies it. Industrial society is not as meritocratic as we might think, a fact that can be proven logically and empirically.
Empirical data show that meritocracies in Western Europe, the United States, and Korea were emerged during a certain stage of industrialization: a period of rapid expansion of the public and private sectors, followed by the increase in entrance of children from the lower middle class into the upper middle class.
However, meritocracy ceased to expand further, as each country entered an era of low growth. Unless more high-quality, stable jobs are provided, it seems unlikely that meritocracy will regain its former vitality in the future.
