偶然在图书馆借了一本书：The Rise of The Meritocracy。作者是Micheal Young。之前在媒体中听到精英主义这个词，并不是很清楚其内涵。特别是提到中国社会普遍的精英主义态度，也不明白西方人为什么不认可。这本书应该代表了西方对精英主义的一个主流认识。
我看的是1994年的版本，在书的159页引用了Manifesto中的一段话：
The classless society would be one which both possessed and acted upon plural values. Were we to evaluate people, not only according to their intelligence and their education, their occupation and their power, but according to the kindliness and their courage, their imagination and their sensitivity, their sympathy and generosity, there could be no classes. Who would be able to say the scientist was superior to the porter with admirable qualities as a father, the civil servant with unusual skill at gaining prizes to the lorry driver with unusual skill at growing roses? The classless society would also be the tolerant society, in which individual differences were actively encouraged as we all passively tolerated, in which full meaning was at last given to the dignity of man. Every human being would then have equal opportunity, not to rise up in the world in the light of any mathematical measure, but to develop his own special capacities for leading a rich life.
无阶级社会将是一个拥有并践行多元价值观的社会。如果我们评估人们，不仅根据他们的智力和教育、职业和权力，还根据他们的善良和勇气、想象力和敏感性、同情心和慷慨，那么就不会有阶级。谁能说科学家比作为父亲具有令人钦佩品质的搬运工更优越，或者比具有非凡获奖技能的公务员更优越，或者比具有非凡种植玫瑰技能的卡车司机更优越？无阶级社会也将是一个宽容的社会，在这个社会中，个人差异被积极鼓励，而我们都被动地容忍，在这个社会中，人类的尊严最终得到了充分的体现。每个人都会有平等的机会，不是为了在任何数学标准下提升自己的地位，而是为了发展自己的特殊能力，过上丰富的生活。
我并不觉得这本书或者上面这段话就是完全正确。现实生活要微妙得多也复杂得多。努力工作本身是值得认可的。一个社会需要技能高超的医生、护士以及各行各业努力精进的劳动者。但我想多了解不同的观点和视角，这是一个让我们可以更宽容的视角。
