It is a simple but persuasive idea: In a world of scarcity, rewards like jobs and pay should be distributed based on ability and effort, not birthright, connections, ways of living, wealth, and so on. Meritocracy, framed this way, may sound utterly uncontroversial. Yet the idea has its fair share of critics, who argue that “merit” tends to accrue to those lucky enough to have well-heeled, well-connected parents. In response to such criticisms, our guest today offers a just conception of meritocracy, having written some of the essential texts on the subject.

Thomas Mulligan is a visiting scholar at Georgetown’s Institute for the Study of Markets and Ethics and a researcher at the RAND Corporation. He is also the author of Justice and the Meritocratic State, a modern classic within the meritocracy literature. In this conversation with host Steven Durlauf, he discusses common critiques of meritocracy, how the idea relates to debates over affirmative action and reparations, and what policy solutions could make societies more meritocratic.