LEADER 04946nam 2200733 a 450 001 9910779665903321 005 20210524190304.0 010 $a0-8014-6766-7 010 $a0-8014-6767-5 024 7 $a10.7591/9780801467677 035 $a(CKB)2550000001038469 035 $a(OCoLC)829387575 035 $a(CaPaEBR)ebrary10639741 035 $a(SSID)ssj0000817061 035 $a(PQKBManifestationID)11481628 035 $a(PQKBTitleCode)TC0000817061 035 $a(PQKBWorkID)10828264 035 $a(PQKB)10284575 035 $a(StDuBDS)EDZ0001503452 035 $a(OCoLC)966854754 035 $a(MdBmJHUP)muse51884 035 $a(DE-B1597)478493 035 $a(OCoLC)1013936376 035 $a(OCoLC)979684431 035 $a(DE-B1597)9780801467677 035 $a(Au-PeEL)EBL3138411 035 $a(CaPaEBR)ebr10639741 035 $a(CaONFJC)MIL681710 035 $a(OCoLC)922998344 035 $a(MiAaPQ)EBC3138411 035 $a(EXLCZ)992550000001038469 100 $a20120703d2013 uy 0 101 0 $aeng 135 $aur||||||||||| 181 $ctxt 182 $cc 183 $acr 200 10$aMerit$b[electronic resource] $ethe history of a founding ideal from the American Revolution to the twenty-first century /$fJoseph F. Kett 210 $aIthaca $cCornell University Press$d2013 215 $a1 online resource (345 p.) 225 0 $aAmerican Institutions and Society 225 0$aAmerican institutions and society 300 $aBibliographic Level Mode of Issuance: Monograph 311 $a1-322-50428-8 311 $a0-8014-5122-1 320 $aIncludes bibliographical references and index. 327 $aIntroduction : the faces of merit -- Republic of merit -- Merit and the culture of public life -- Small worlds : competition in the colleges -- Making the grade : managed competition and schooling -- The scientific measurement of merit -- The "presumption of merit" : institutionalizing merit -- Squeeze play : merit in government -- Merit in crisis -- Epilogue : merit, equality, consent. 330 $aThe idea that citizens' advancement should depend exclusively on merit, on qualities that deserve reward rather than on bloodlines or wire-pulling, was among the Founding ideals of the American republic, Joseph F. Kett argues in this provocative and engaging book. Merit's history, he contends, is best understood within the context of its often conflicting interaction with the other ideals of the Founding, equal rights and government by consent. Merit implies difference; equality suggests sameness. By sanctioning selection of those lower down by those higher up, merit potentially conflicts with the republican ideal that citizens consent to the decisions that affect their lives.In Merit, which traces the history of its subject over three centuries, Kett asserts that Americans have reconciled merit with other principles of the Founding in ways that have shaped their distinctive approach to the grading of public schools, report cards, the forging of workplace hierarchies, employee rating forms, merit systems in government, the selection of officers for the armed forces, and standardized testing for intelligence, character, and vocational interests. Today, the concept of merit is most commonly associated with measures by which it is quantified.Viewing their merit as an element of their selfhood-essential merit-members of the Founding generation showed no interest in quantitative measurements. Rather, they equated merit with an inner quality that accounted for their achievements and that was best measured by their reputations among their peers. In a republic based on equal rights and consent of the people, however, it became important to establish that merit-based rewards were within the grasp of ordinary Americans. In response, Americans embraced institutional merit in the form of procedures focused on drawing small distinctions among average people. They also developed a penchant for increasing the number of winners in competitions-what Kett calls "selection in" rather than "selection out"-in order to satisfy popular aspirations. Kett argues that values rooted in the Founding of the republic continue to influence Americans' approach to controversies, including those surrounding affirmative action, which involve the ideal of merit. 606 $aMerit (Ethics)$xSocial aspects$zUnited States 606 $aSocial values$zUnited States$xHistory 606 $aNational characteristics, American$xHistory 607 $aUnited States$xHistory 615 0$aMerit (Ethics)$xSocial aspects 615 0$aSocial values$xHistory. 615 0$aNational characteristics, American$xHistory. 676 $a179/.9 700 $aKett$b Joseph F$01157587 801 0$bMiAaPQ 801 1$bMiAaPQ 801 2$bMiAaPQ 906 $aBOOK 912 $a9910779665903321 996 $aMerit$92704254 997 $aUNINA