Meritocracy today involves the idea that whatever your social position at birth society ought to offer enough opportunity and mobility for âtalentâ to combine with âeffortâ in order to ârise to the topâ. This idea is one of the most prevalent social and cultural tropes of our time as palpable in the speeches of politicians as in popular culture. In this book Jo Littler argues that meritocracy is the key cultural means of legitimation for contemporary neoliberal culture â and that whilst it promises opportunity it in fact creates new forms of social division. Against Meritocracy is split into two parts. Part I explores the genealogies of meritocracy within social theory political discourse and working cultures. It traces the dramatic U-turn in meritocracyâs meaning from socialist slur to a contemporary ideal of how a society should be organised. Part II uses a series of case studies to analyse the cultural pull of popular âparables of progressâ from reality TV to the super-rich and celebrity CEOs from social media controversies to the rise of the âmumpreneurâ. Paying special attention to the role of gender âraceâ and class this book provides new conceptualisations of the meaning of meritocracy in contemporary culture and society. . Language: English