Dual Threat to Democracy: Neoliberalism and Meritocracy

Abstract

Globally, there is a rise in populism and a growing threat to democracy, even among western liberal democracies. These are also market-based societies that have idealized the concept of meritocracy, which, coupled with neoliberal free market capitalism, has resulted in a rapid rise in income and wealth inequality. These factors have resulted in social dysfunction in the form of erosion of our social fabric and decreased political trust. In this essay, I showcase how the last four decades of neoliberal capitalism, the myth of meritocracy, and subsequent rising inequality has eroded our faith in democracy, particularly in US and UK, and given rise to populism in western countries.