GAMSAT S2 EXPERT ESSAY COLLECTION

Sample Task A Introduction on Meritocracy

Work hard, play hard. Well, actually, work hard and reap the benefits of what a capitalistic society has to offer. Indeed in the contemporary West, citizens are heavily rewarded for their exploits in the economy. Those that play the capitalist game, win society’s rewards. To that extent, contemporary Western society has developed a somewhat restrictive obsession with the idea that propserity and reward should be reserved only for those who are willing to work for and earn it. Yet, in the way that it was conceived, it appears that recent shifts to a more barbaric and unconstrained version of capitalism, that have coincided with neoliberal ideology and mass marketisation, are damaging to the very identity of the West. Indeed, the West often boasts it’s recent history in being heralded as the birthplace for democracy, liberalism and equality. Yet with the recent flourisihing of the contemporary unbridled capitalism, it appears our obsession with meritocracy, hard work and wealth accumulation has distorted traditional values. Where once we upheld the individual, we now uphold the market. Long live the market.