Meritocracy is becoming my Everest

I'm getting close to finishing this frigging book, and I'm super excited to get down to working on the take-aways and parallels in modern society.  I hope to have some solid interesting ideas on how this is playing out all around us and show the brilliance of this book.  Here's the thing I think that the author truly believed that implementing a meritocracy was a dangerous and short sighted road for the future, but unless he comes out a says it quickly I think he underestimated the potential for abuse in this system.  As he has written it, this system was born out of egalitarian motives, advanced with pure intentions and implemented with great fairness.  Any of that sound like something that would happen on this planet?  Right, Marx envisioned something similar with his communist manifesto (I have read it so shut up, but it was a while ago so bear with me) and really thought that with the right intentions we could have a better planet.  The rise of the meritocracy is more of a retrospective warning of what would happen had someone written a Meritocratic manifesto and it was implemented in Britain.  I think there is a chance I have my notes on reading the Communist manifesto somewhere or another, so it may make an appearance here (if for nothing than that the socialists where mentioned time and time again in this work).

Why do I mention it?  Well for the last few weeks I've dedicated the time I would otherwise spend to write posts here to reading that book outside in the sunshine (such as we manage to get here in the Pacific Northwest).  I'm down to about 40 pages remaining and really excited about the progress I'm making.  One strange benefit of dragging out reading this book is that it's been on the top of my mind when I'm reading other things on the internet and has made for some interesting connections.  I don't plan on making it a monolithic post thus far, it's just too much to try and cover but here's the thing I think everyone should read this book.  Skip the parts that don't make sense, ignore the bits about British government if they don't mean anything to you and don't try to figure out if any of his predictions came true.  Read it for the structure, and reasoned force of making a point.  It is some large part fiction extrapolated out from history with sociology mixed in for the seasoning, and some of the best writing in terms of clarity I've ever come across.  This books sets up his points delivers, and then summarizes without repeating himself.  I know that is how you're supposed to write, but I have to date never encountered a better example of it that didn't feel forced.  It's a story, and it flows but it's presented like a school paper with structure and grammar to match the substance.  Whether fiction or dry theory the author has great command of language, writing with a common voice without being common.

That's really hard to do.