Table of Contents
Introduction: A Revolutionary Idea 1;
Part 1 Priority, Degree and Place;
1 Homo hierarchicus 25;
2 Family Power 35;
3 Nepotism, Patronage, Venality 47;
Part 2 Meritocracy before Modernity;
4 Plato and the Philosopher Kings 59;
5 China and the Examination State 72;
6 The Chosen People 86;
7 The Golden Ladder 99;
Part 3 The Rise of the Meritocracy;
8 Europe and the Career Open to Talent 117;
9 Britain and the Intellectual Aristocracy 144;
10 The United States and the Republic of Merit 175;
Part 4 The March of the Meritocrats;
11 The Measurement of Merit 205;
12 The Meritocratic Revolution 234;
13 Girly Swots 256;
Part 5 The Crisis of the Meritocracy;
14 Against Meritocracy: The Revolt on the Left 279;
15 The Corruption of the Meritocracy 306;
16 Against Meritocracy: The Revolt on the Right 329;
17 Asia Rediscovers Meritocracy 350;
Conclusion: Renewing Meritocracy 367;
Acknowledgements 399;
Notes 401;
Index 445