The recent public spat between Chris Bryant MP and singer-songwriter James Blunt about the “over-representation” of rich, white, males in the Arts provides a neat and interesting backdrop to the concept of meritocracy.
Is it just a question of “cream rising to the top” – or does it involve more-complex ideas about inequality and privilege?
If you want to take things a little further, the article can also be used to consider Functionalist (Davis-Moore thesis) and Neo-functionalist (Saunders) arguments and refutations.