Meritocracy is such an intuitive concept that defining it feels redundant. Politicians across the ideological spectrum continually return to the idea that the great rewards of life: money, power, jobs…university admissions, should be distributed according to skill and effort. The ‘even playing field’, they call it, where little players in this grand political game rise to positions that fit their ‘merit’.
Conceptually, the meritocracy is the opposite of systems like monarchy i.e hereditary wealth and advantage are based on merit not a windfall of external events. And although it is widely held, the belief that merit rather than luck determines success in this world is demonstrably false. This flaw in this belief stems from the fact that merit itself is a result of luck. The merit in question depends a great deal on one’s parents, their parents and upbringing.
When I say this, it is nothing against the rags to riches success stories we see around us. Bill Gates’, Albert Einstein’s, the newspaper man’s son’s stellar success. These people beat the system and I congratulate them for it. But what of Bill Gates children vs your children. For sure, Bill Gates child is going to end up at Harvard or another such ‘prestigious’ university. Based on talent, maybe… but did that talent originate from the private schools and fancy tutors, and dad’s connections. Again, this is nothing against Bill Gates and his kids but here’s when I come back to luck intervening by granting people merit. Sure, the industry rewards successful people, however it does show us that the link between merit and one’s life outcome is barely indirect at best.
What I have stated is unsurprising, and most people are nodding their head. Yet everyone buys into this meritocracy and participates in this competition. This is even more surprising because inequality is the core of the meritocracy. The ‘even playing field’ is intended to avoid unfair inequalities based on gender, race, socio-economic standings, and the like. It’s ironic really because a meritocracy is an attempt to eliminate these kinds of inequalities but lands up causing them.
We can start to think of this as early as college admissions. Brrrr. After reading articles about what goes on inside prestigious college institution admission rooms, I am so confused about how I’m even here at UNC. To get into a prestigious institution you need to be flawless, never experience anything but success, you need to have hobbies such as sailing, or water polo or rowing, you need to be and, in their words, ‘well rounded or really pointy’. When does an average person ever have the resources to pursue such niche, expensive hobbies? If they fail, they don’t have their parents’ money to cover their mistakes up. They don’t have SAT tutors who feed you that perfect score.
I once heard that the ‘SAT measures income not academic ability’, and I don’t think I’ve agreed with a statement more.
The meritocracy is widening this gap between the elite and the average person. Only a select few people get into Harvard. This scarcity issue is manufactured, spots at Harvard aren’t valuable… they’re scarce. With their money they could double their student population but to maintain Harvard as Harvard and to make this path to the elite narrower and narrower they don’t.
So, we’ve established the meritocracy paradox and the spiraling inequality that stems from it.What now?
The first step in my eyes is recognizing the flaws in our meritocratic system. Acknowledging on a political level that privilege, and systemic advantages and disadvantages play a greater if not equal role as merit in defining one’s life outcome is essential. Then efforts must be made to actually create a level playing field.
The first, most important way is education. As of today, elite universities, prestigious private high schools to elementary schools provide intensive educations almost exclusively to the wealthy (already elite). I don’t see any reason why these institutions can’t educate 2 or even 3 times the students they do now, and why these new students can’t be from outside the elite circles. This would help widen this narrowing path to a good education across the country and would create more opportunities for more and more people. At the same time the elite aura around these schools would reduce.
I think this will have the most brilliant chain reaction of all. Less stress for students, collaboration rather than cutthroat competition, freedom to actually make mistakes, and best of all encouraging them to be who they want rather than a textbook student that these institutions do.
Even later in life, as these new group of students grow older, they are likely to be happier and pursuing passion rather than prestige. There would more space for everyone, and instead of the top 5%, we all would be better off.
The second is fiscal policy. Only when the law is on the side of the middle-class man will he actually have a shot at success. I am talking about income taxes. A study found that ‘middle class labor is the highest-taxed factor of production in our economy’. We are in a technological revolution where the rewards to replace these people with super skilled workers (the elite) or robots is greater than hiring them. The proposal I talk of is to switch this. Create incentives to hire these workers, create new technologies that a) create more jobs, and b) help these workers.
I will stress again, that these solutions in no mean will magically solve the meritocracy, as of now nothing can. Humans will always be selfish and crave to be elite. As a species we are power hungry and greedy. So, there is no stopping it. However, making it a better meritocracy and eliminating some of the problems like inequality through these solutions would be a start.
Throughout this essay I have overused words such as elite and prestige. The sooner these words stop becoming people’s life goals will be the sooner we are to eliminating meritocratic inequality. Only by acknowledging and addressing these flaws can societies move closer to achieving true equality and justice.
Bibliography:
1. Markovits, D. (2020, January 9). How meritocracy worsens inequality-and makes even
the rich miserable. Yale Insights. https://insights.som.yale.edu/insights/how-meritocracyworsens-
inequality-and-makes-even-the-rich-miserable
2. Sandel, M. J. (2021). HOW MERITOCRACY FUELS INEQUALITY—PART I The
Tyranny of Merit: An Overview. American Journal of Law and Equality, 1, 4–
14. https://doi.org/10.1162/ajle_a_00024
3. Deresiewicz, W. (2023, November 15). Don’t Send Your Kid to the Ivy League. The New
Republic. https://newrepublic.com/article/118747/ivy-league-schools-are-overrated-sendyour-
kids-elsewhere

It shall explore the fascinating way in which trees communicate with each other through chemical signals and root networks, revealing the complex social lives of the forests.

Bibliography (CSE Style Citations)

1. Wohlleben P. The hidden life of trees: what they feel, how they communicate: discoveries from a secret world. Vancouver, BC; Berkeley: David Suzuki Institute / Greystone Books; 2006. doi:9781771642484

2. 1. Wohlleben P. The secret wisdom of nature: trees, animals, and the extraordinary balance of all living things: stories from science and observation. Billinghurst J, translator. Vancouver, BC; Berkeley: David Suzuki Institute / Greystone Books; 2019.doi:9781771643887

3. 1. Stebbins RC. Connecting with nature: a naturalist’s perspective. Arlington, Va: National Science Teachers Association; 2012. doi:9781936959891

4. 1. Horton TR, editor. Mycorrhizal networks. Dordrecht: Springer; 2015. doi:9789401773959

Essay::

In the heart of an ancient forest, once upon a time, a new life was born. A life that began as a tender shoot reaching and grasping for dappled sunlight through the leafy canopy above.

Through the cycles of seasons, and years passing by the tree bore witness to a symphony of life unfolding around it, a symphony conducted not through birdsong, the rustle of leaves or the patter of rain but through the secret language of trees, a covert dialogue woven into the fabric of our existence.

A humble oak tree stands guard in the viridian green tapestry of the woods. Its roots branch far and wide and intertwine with the bountiful tapestry of the earth. It is a complex tangle of life concealed beneath the soil, a network that extends far beyond the reach of its humble

branches. In this hidden underworld, mycorrhizal threads weave an intricate narrative. It is here that the tree discovers the first whispers of the secret language that draws this infinitely green conglomeration together.

Mycorrhizal; tiny fungal threads that wrap around thick tree roots. Winding all around the forest floor, the mycelium forms a wood-wide web that allows individual plants to help one another transfer water, nitrogen, carbon and other minerals.

A long time ago, the sapling felt a gentle nuzzle of the wind, a whisper, a sound, a message carrying tales from distant leaves. As the sapling’s roots grew deeper into the soil, it became a participant in a dialogue that transcends spoken word. It was a chemical language, letters and

words written in soil, carried by breeze and shared through the underground fungal networks that maze the earth beneath our feet.

Soon the little sapling found its parents. Whose seeds had birthed this new life. Through this newfound network, the parents passed the little sapling water. When the soil wasn’t fertile enough, they sent it nutrients. The sapling found that it had a family.

As the tree grew older, it came to learn of a theatre of botanical drama in the nexus. It discovered that the network wasn’t just used to share resources but to steal them as well. It saw a thieving plant extend its tendrils into the mycorrhizal network, pilfering the photosynthate,

the lifeblood from a nearby tree. It saw its nexus of hope and love become a spectral courier and an accomplice to the larceny, ferrying carbon from the vulnerable tree to the robber. It found that much like humans; it was only the survival of the fittest.

In tree language, secrets aren’t exchanged through petty gossip, but through the release of chemical signals.

One day the tree was suddenly attacked. A group of insects descended with hunger and greed and threatened to strip its leaves bare. At that moment, instead of crying for help the tree released a set of volatile compounds in the air. This chemical whisper was carried by the trees to warn its neighboring companions of the impending danger. It was a message encoded in the air we breathe. It was an urgent plea to fortify themselves.

The neighboring trees, wise to its distress, altered their own chemical compositions and lifted their defenses by activating certain parts of their immune system against the common foe. In this show of resilience, the forest formed bonds unseen by a casual observer. It was a pact of survival, a testament to the interconnected lives that pulse through the forest.

As the seasons passed, the tree better understood the nuances of this chemical symphony.

Every tree, whether pine, birch, maple or oak contributed their own notes to this grand composition. The pine sang of its fortitude against the winter breeze. The birch hummed with adaptability, bending gracefully in the wind.

In the spring, as the buds stretched open from their winter slumber, and the first leaves emerged there was a sense of joy in the air. The chemical signals exchanged during this season carried a scent of hope and abundance.

As summer came around, it brought with it a new energy. The lush green leaves harnessed the sun into energy that courses through the tree’s veins. The mycorrhizal network, buzzing with activity, became a channel for the exchange of nutrients, a grand market spread beneath the

soil.

And then winter. Everything was slower in winter. The once bustling network slowed down and chemical exchanges became rare.

The mycorrhizal threads beneath the soil, the wifi that connected all the trees together, not only helped the trees share nutrients but also share the essence of their existence. When one among them surrendered to the ravages of diseases, the entire network mourned. Through this web, the demise of one tree became collective and was felt by every tree.

Through this secret language, the tree came to understand that though its life was rooted in one place, it was part of something much bigger, a grand narrative that exceeded beyond the reach of its bark and branches. The whispery rustles of its leaves and the sway in its branches and the chemical signals it released were all a part of a grand saga. In the secret language of trees, it not only found survival but a sense of belonging.

inding Nemo was the first of many Disney movies I watched growing up. From these movies I could quote countless lines and reenact scenes without a thought, but if you told me to quote Hamlet, I would be blank. So, the question stands, what has shaped me more and what has molded our generation into who we are today?

Disney was most our first examples of how people interact in the world and is THE model that children grow up seeing. Through movies like Finding Nemo, it shapes how individuals view themselves and one another. All this is to say that Disney’s narratives contribute to the ideologies we carry into adulthood.

Finding Nemo is not just a compelling story of a cute clown fish, it is in fact a showcase of Disney’s ability to seamlessly integrate profound themes in its stories without being preachy. The mainstream storyline is the adventurous journey reconnecting dad and son. But in Finding Nemo I discovered a sunken treasure – a multifaceted representation of disability.

Unlike the other fish, Nemo is born with a physical disability of a small fin which he affectionately calls his ‘lucky fin’. Throughout his life, he has learned to adapt to it, portraying this as a testament to his confidence. At his school, a microcosm of a diverse society, his peers embrace and admire him, showcasing the importance of acknowledging and celebrating differences.

Contrary to assumptions, Nemo swims just as proficiently as his peers, challenging the narrative that disabilities limit individuals. The film delicately unfolds Nemo’s journey, reflecting the real-life experiences of people who defy expectations, even in the face of underestimation from those closest to them like Nemo and his father Marlin. Nemo’s disability becomes an integral but positive part of his identity, transforming him into a teacher of valuable lessons.

What makes this movie standout from the conventional narratives is its refusal to reduce Nemo’s character to his disability. Unlike many stories, the movie avoids the pitfall of typecasting Nemo into the stereotypical role of a disabled person facing continuous misfortune.

Instead of emphasizing Nemo’s physical difference, the representation of disability is presented as a socially created concept, rather than a state of body to which value judgements are assigned. This helps portray his ‘disability’ as a playful element in the movie.  I think it is this approach that allows the disability aspect to seamlessly blend into the narrative, subtly floating past the mainstream audience. The success of diversity in this movie lies in the non-traditional portrayals of disability, presenting a more relatable representation. In the end, Marlin learns to trust in Nemo’s capabilities, and the movie disapproves the stereotypes about disability and Nemo is triumphant.

Another factor contributing to Nemo’s normalized portrayal is the diverse range of aquatic companions and sidekicks in the film. A standout figure among them is undoubtedly Dory, the lively blue tang and Marlin’s sidekick who is easily one of the most recognizable and popular characters in the film. Dory, however, suffers from chronic short term memory loss. Although her condition presents challenges, in the film it becomes a source of comical charm. Her uniqueness is evident when she proves to be the sole character capable of reading English and speaking whale, showcasing her extraordinary abilities that transcend her disability. Dory’s adaptability also shines though as she navigates key moments in the story revealing a character whose abnormality is not a limitation but rather an endearing trait. This is important as ‘how individuals are portrayed in popular media can have a profound effect on how they are viewed by society at large’. Marlin recognizes Dory’s vale despite her adversity and would not have been able to complete the journey without her.

Some other additions to this lively cast that make this more representative of society than most animated movies include Marlin who grapples with anxiety and trauma following the loss of his wife, introducing a layer of complexity rarely explored in animated films. Jacques, the shrimp in the dentist’s fish tank who exhibits obsessive compulsive tendencies adding another dimension to the diverse cast in this film. There are also the very humorous, ‘Vegetarian Aspiring Sharks’ engaging in their 5-step program. Each step in the program satirizes the typical stages of self-help or addiction recovery programs, adding a commentary on the societal expectations and assumptions imposed on individuals. Look at it closely! This movie is an ocean of representation.

All of the remarkable, “abnormal,” even freakish characters in “Finding Nemo” swim with and against the undertones, and neither “overcome” their so-called physical and intellectual “problems,” nor prevail “in spite of” them, as conventional narrative and stereotypes would prescribe. And as for graphic illustration, they far exceed their two dimensions.