China’s experiment in ranking and monitoring citizens has started

Re:China’s experiment in ranking and monitoring citizens has... by kome on Saturday April 07, 2018 @09:29AM (#16780607)

Funny trivia: the word "meritocracy" is the invention of a British sociologist: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Michael_Young,_Baron_Young_of_...

In his book "The Rise of the Meritocracy" (1958) he describes a dystopia where everything in a society is decided by using "merit" (intelligence + effort).

For all of those whom use "meritocracy" with a positive connotation, it should be a compulsory read. It's also short and very fun.

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Re:China’s experiment in ranking and monitoring citizens has... by rdlecler1 on Saturday April 07, 2018 @10:15AM (#16780785)

You’re putting up a straw man. I could write a dystopian book about any ideology. A good meritocracy would deal with these issues because a dystopian meritocracy would likely hamper innovation and the emergence of new standards and areas of merit.

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Re:China’s experiment in ranking and monitoring citizens has... by zajd on Saturday April 07, 2018 @10:34AM (#16780858)

It's not a straw man though? Meritocracy, the word itself, was invented to describe a fictional dystopian society.

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Re:China’s experiment in ranking and monitoring citizens has... by kome on Saturday April 07, 2018 @01:15PM (#16781629)

Well, it's kinda fun that the very word of meritocracy was invented as a dystopian word, but now it got a positive connotation. That's not a straw man: it's a fun fact.

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