Favouring the Competition After You Have Lost? - A Study of Support for Meritocratic Values in Various Societies among Different Individuals

Abstract

Current understandings of the impact of social status on the propensity to support meritocratic values was extended by considering the social mobility and employment-status of individuals. Furthermore, the interaction between factors at both the micro and macro-level were taken into account. Specifically, the society-wide popularity of meritocratic perceptions was expected to enlarge both status-effects. Moreover, rational choice notions were supplemented with structuralist insights. Data from the ISSP Social Inequality survey of 2009 (ISSP Research Group, 2012c) were used. Popular meritocratic perceptions were shown to moderate the effect of being unemployed for an individual’s support for meritocratic values. As expected, the unemployed were less likely to support meritocratic values. However, contrary to what was expected, popular meritocratic perceptions appeared to decrease this negative effect of being unemployed for support for meritocratic values. Furthermore, no relations were found for social mobility. Lastly, some theoretical innovations were suggested. Certainly, new questions arose from this study.