I have still to know a business or political leader who does not profess their belief in the importance of rewarding merit. But what we often see is the spreading of the culture of entitlement in all layers of our society.
Entitlement assumes that a person deserves special treatment, is exempt from the rules and should not be held to the same standards as others. It is characterised by a lack of empathy, grandiosity, greed, superficiality, admiration and arrogance.
It is so unfair that in the past few decades, the war against the culture of entitlement has been directed almost exclusively against benefits cheats who have been blamed for the bankruptcy of the welfare system. Of course, the welfare system has suffered from abuse. Still, the more toxic elements of this culture must be found in many of the wealthy and privileged who wear the badge of entitlement to show their perceived special status in society.
Some politicians, business leaders, successful sportspersons and wealthy families wear their entitlement like a badge of honour. They expect special treatment, privileges and nice things to be given to them instead of investing in the hard work necessary to earn them.
Politics and the power it bestows on those who make it to some critical post often heightens the culture of entitlement. Active politicians believe they have a right to get rich on perks and use their connections with the business community.
Retired politicians resort to speaking engagements, consulting, endorsements, investments and book deals. Some who have seen their political careers end abruptly often discover how easy it is to reinvent themselves by using the revolving doors system or exploit their connections while still in power.
In a 1984 essay, Peter Drucker, the father of modern management, argued that executive pay was out of control and lucrative severance packages destroyed accountability. He argued: “This is morally and socially unforgivable, and we will pay a heavy price for it.” Things have only gotten much worse since then.
But the illusion of meritocracy is more hurtful in the education system. Relatively well-off parents do all they can to ensure their children get a place in local or foreign private schools or universities. They are prepared to pay to sweeten the admission process, believing that their children deserve every support to succeed in life.
We need to burst the bubble of entitlement and promote the values of integrity and gratefulness in our lives
This success begins with rubbing shoulders with other privileged children of the rich and powerful. Still, elite education does not render a person immune from mental illness or bad marriages, nor are they guarantees of lifetime ease.
The competitive world of parenting, especially among the well-off, connected and powerful, means that parenting becomes a zero-sum game. Driving children to excel in highly competitive schools produces a generation of adolescents plagued with disturbingly high levels of anxiety, depressive symptomology and wavering self-esteem.
But there is another quite distinct underlying cause for the poor performance of some education systems.
When students feel entitled to privileges and perks they have not worked hard for or earned in a meaningful way, they are setting themselves up to fail in the game of life.
We condition children from an early age to expect a reward and praise for merely showing up in class.
If we want to crush a culture of entitlement, we have to stop rewarding and celebrating mere participation. Showing up in class is a bare minimum and would be expected, not rewarded. Save the rewards for the much more meaningful contributions and milestones achieved by students.
Our educational system is built on an unspoken acknowledgement that there are no winners or losers anymore. Competition is bad.
Everyone is promoted and gets a reward. Everyone gets an “A”. There are no individuals, no standouts.
We do not want to offend anyone. Diversity, inclusion and political correctness are what matters. This is not what meritocracy is about.
We need to face this harsh truth with a hefty dose of humility to acknowledge that we are generally labouring under an illusion of meritocracy.
In our society, entitlement comes from everywhere: from our leaders in the private and public sectors, our schools, our speech and our popular culture.
The normalisation of a culture of entitlement is a stumbling block to our advancement as a modern society. When people see entitled people on the take, they feel that it is OK to do the same thing.
We need to burst the bubble of entitlement and promote the values of integrity and gratefulness in our lives.