EARNING YOUR PLACE IN SOCIETY: IS WORKPLACE MERIT AN OPERATIVE SOCIAL CONTRACT?

Abstract

This article analyzes the issue of merit as a means of allocating scarce positions in society while attempting to answer the question about whether merit is an operative social contract in U.S. society. Like traditional social contract theory, integrated social contract theory starts with the idea of consent to a hypothetical social contract that governs relationships in society. Because corporations are members of the societies in which they operate, they are subject to local social contracts. The concept of hypernorms has been developed to signify the idea that local micro social contracts cannot be created without any boundaries or limits. Analyzing merit via integrated social contract theory involves considering whether merit is in fact a local micro social contract, questioning the authenticity of the extant local social contract and considering whether the extant social contract violates a hypernorm. Before merit can be used as a criterion for hiring or promoting a person into a particular position, the particular technical skills and competencies necessary for success must be identified. The literature on employee evaluation indicates that it, like selection, cannot be done in a value- or culture-free fashion.