Outside Assignment #2

Due at the beginning of class on Monday, May 30, 2011.

According to Webster's, a "meritocracy" is "a system in which able and talented people are rewarded and advanced."  In other words, it's WHAT you know....not WHO you know (or who your parents were).

After reading the linked article from The Economist magazine, write a 3-5 page reaction paper addressing some or all of the following themes:

Is America truly a "meritocracy;" why or why not?

Can anyone really grow up to be president?  Are the FEW men who became president in the 20th and 21st centuries after rising above humble roots an exception or an accurate reflection of American possibilities and the American Dream?

According to published reports, Former President George W. Bush "Is closely related to every European monarch on and off the throne...He is the 13th cousin of Britain's Queen Mother, and of her daughter Queen Elizabeth and is a 13th cousin once removed of the heir to the throne, Prince Charles...He has a direct descent from Henry III and from Henry VIII's sister Mary Tudor, who was also the wife of Louis XI if France.  He is also descended from Charles II of England."  Bush's opponent in the 2004 presidential race was Sen. John Kerry.  According to published reports, "Kerry can almost certainly be traced back to King James I [who commissioned the "King James" Bible] and and to the bloodlines straight through the Windsor [the current royal family of Britain] and Hanover families."  Further, Presidents George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, Theodore and Franklin Roosevelt and Ronald Reagan (and several others, as well as several other presidential contenders, including Al Gore) have "strong blue blood links."

In light of this, what makes a country a "real" democracy?  If everyone is free to vote, but something about the system seems to limit our choices to the "American Aristocracy," is that true democracy in every sense of the word?

What does this mean for public policy in America?

What does this mean for "representation?"

CLICK HERE FOR ARTICLE FROM THE ECONOMIST

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You should have a title page that reads"

__________

Outside Assignment #2
Meritocracy Reaction Paper
PLSC 201
May 2011
Dr. Huffmon

[your name]

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 The title page DOES NOT count toward your total page count.  Papers must be stapled in the top left corner.  Do not use a “paper cover.”  You must use 12pt Times New Roman font.  The paper will be double-spaced and must have 1 inch margins all around with page numbers (preferably on the bottom center of each page).