MERITOCRACY AND EGALITARIANISM: adherence of university students from public and private institutions

Abstract

When assuming the form of norms within a society, meritocracy and egalitarianism may initially appear to bring numerous benefits. However, subtly within this social dynamic, they can normalize inequality and emphasize various mechanisms of prejudice within the social fabric. Given the above, this article aims to measure the adherence of university students to the social norms of meritocracy and egalitarianism through practical, descriptive, and survey-based research. The study employed a sociodemographic questionnaire and a scale of social norms, consisting of adherence to egalitarianism and meritocratic individualism principles. The survey results revealed that university students exhibited moderate to low levels of adherence, with significant differences observed in the variables of gender, age, and income, indicating higher levels of adherence among males, younger individuals, and those with lower income. These findings indicate an ideological bias that is less prevalent in the academic environment but deeply ingrained in the social fabric since the early stages of individual formation. Thus, this highlights the need for critical debates on the denaturalization of this perception of reality, providing new perspectives to individuals in confronting reality and addressing inequalities in their respective contexts.