The Merit System (John Speaking)
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I don't know whether there is a RIGHT to be hired on the basis of merit or competence or strictly defined job qualifications. After all, when you think about it, that isn't the way people are usually hired. For one thing, there are a lot of jobs that most people can do properly if they're given a little experience and training. Does talking about a merit system really make much sense in those cases? Given a month on the job, most people could do it just fine. In those cases, it's misleading to talk about a merit system. But somehow, when this gets talked about on television, nobody seems to think about jobs like that. And that's a lot of jobs, too.

More importantly, even for jobs where considerable skill is involved, lots of big employers promote internally in order to keep up morale. Small business people often hire relatives. Many businesses like to hire people that someone inside already knows. Or someone might be hired because he is a veteran, because of her contacts with potential customers, or because he gets along well with others.

I think the fact is that most employers consider merit or competence as ONE FACTOR among several when they hire. They want a person who is reasonably well qualified, but they also have other concerns.

Normally, we don't regard this as a violation of anyone's rights.

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