ABSTRACT
The ideal of "careers open to talents" dates from Napoleon's time, when it formed a centerpiece of the liberal assault on nepotism and hereditary privilege. The most familiar objections to the merit principle challenge the very idea of merit, arguing that there is no such thing, or that it is "socially constructed". Many people hold a picture of merit that is wholly individual and personal: the person with the most merit is the smartest, or the fastest, or possesses some other quality that can be defined without reference to the role these qualities play. The merit principle says that people who rank higher on the M scale should rank higher on the P scale. This reading of the merit principle best corresponds with the notion of careers open to talents. Disproportionate rewards provide one reason to think that merit has been given too large a role in conferring benefits.
