TY - JOUR
T1 - The Meritocracy Trap and Kinesiology
AU - Twietmeyer, Gregg
AU - Johnson, Tyler G.
N1 - Publisher Copyright:
© 2023 Human Kinetics, Inc.
PY - 2023/5
Y1 - 2023/5
N2 - Meritocracy continues to dominate conventional thinking in the postmodern West. Yet, recently, an increasing number of critics have highlighted how meritocracy has gone wrong. One such critic is Daniel Markovits, author of The Meritocracy Trap. In this article, we highlight the major themes of Markovits's book, identify how the ideology of meritocracy has infiltrated kinesiology and sport, and then propose how to reconceptualize and redirect kinesiology toward a more humane and morally sound discipline, which can avoid the pitfalls of the meritocracy trap. Most notably, we propose that kinesiology should (a) recognize the frailty and temporality of humans, (b) embrace the wide middle of human skill performance capabilities, (c) value mid-level jobs and occupations such as physical education teaching and YMCA and/or city recreation department positions, and (d) redefine what counts as success.
AB - Meritocracy continues to dominate conventional thinking in the postmodern West. Yet, recently, an increasing number of critics have highlighted how meritocracy has gone wrong. One such critic is Daniel Markovits, author of The Meritocracy Trap. In this article, we highlight the major themes of Markovits's book, identify how the ideology of meritocracy has infiltrated kinesiology and sport, and then propose how to reconceptualize and redirect kinesiology toward a more humane and morally sound discipline, which can avoid the pitfalls of the meritocracy trap. Most notably, we propose that kinesiology should (a) recognize the frailty and temporality of humans, (b) embrace the wide middle of human skill performance capabilities, (c) value mid-level jobs and occupations such as physical education teaching and YMCA and/or city recreation department positions, and (d) redefine what counts as success.
KW - human flourishing
KW - merit
KW - play
KW - sport philosophy
KW - success
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85166522406&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1123/kr.2022-0015
DO - 10.1123/kr.2022-0015
M3 - Article
AN - SCOPUS:85166522406
SN - 2163-0453
VL - 12
SP - 109
EP - 119
JO - Kinesiology Review
JF - Kinesiology Review
IS - 2
ER -