Meritocracy -- Any merit to the idea?

[Arturo]

One thing that gets me about the gray lump's idea is that it's dangerously close to the totalitarianism in China. And according to the happiness index, people there are very unhappy.

And a side note, there are some things nobody is suited for, like being a politician.

[Icarus]

Was it Robert Townsend who postulated that everyone in an organization shall rise to their level of incompetence?

[Dave]

Was it Robert Townsend who postulated that everyone in an organization shall rise to their level of incompetence?

Not sure but there is the Peter Principle"

The Peter principle is a concept in management theory formulated by Laurence J. Peter and published in 1969. The theory is that the selection of a candidate for a position is based on the candidate's performance in their current role, rather than on abilities relevant to the intended role. Thus, employees only stop being promoted once they can no longer perform effectively, and "managers rise to the level of their incompetence."

The problem is that some achieve a level higher - total incompetence!

The insecure or incompetent manager tends to promote those even more insecure or incompetent, they will never challenge his position.

[xSilverPhinx]

^ That explains a lot.