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General PaPer JC2 Preliminary Examination Paper 2 lnsert This ansert consists of 2 printed paqes

-IheEconomisr'ssuryeyoffalenit|oclotr.j(7Ih2006)examinestheimpactofglobalmefilocracyYoung' a British sociologist and ln'The Rise of the Meritocracy" published in 1958 Michael date wds wtth lalenl obsF5sed rmaqc ol a socrely i'ot't p"'r" 'ai"*r' _fhe promorrns tar rrom Bur ''""'ar restins or ro "onl"i'p'n #'r*"0 trie art prod,:ff i,,,*i"v,"'ri"'p,*"Lp.rion ;irh tarenr.had

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talent war were doubly unhappy' consdo( asainsl therr maslers ll'lalenl"-owed mor€ lo olJ.JioG irnu,".l rventuitiv ttrev revonednsi"sled lhen rewardrng people for therr lalenl i]irr. tt"n nun*., u" many .oiiat scienlistspnvileged parerds) t" i"*"rdirE them for having

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the way Much of this resenlrn-ent focuses There ar;denty of signs that another baclJash is on the bonds of sociely.to tO on qrowinq inequalities eeopte.ompra'n rt'ir tnese are slraining ghetlos and-running the golden tnlo h6'! in^ Mint, new anslocracv oi taled ;; telrealrng the vrces or arrstoc'acv or manv r;ain rarented rn one o( the besr hisrooan an American LasLh the late chrisrophel taiented set the most meritosatic the most "r-.t,i!t: "iia rosii ot t"r"nt 's power as 75 polil|cal tt'.ir us" peopt. can us"iitnnrn, tt e rewards. But the reality of"o..oo."v

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wrote hls book lnequaldFs are ln some ways things are worse lhan they were when Young . early 2oth-century levels and \/via"r'_ m rr,lir, emerica ano crrina ttrev are retumingio

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to. esalitadanism J'rii,' ii'ii!-glob,l v'uns'" i';b'l" can nq; add Ftriotism Arnerica growng.in gap is 'maior ;;i samuel Huntington, a political scrent'st, ;;;;; public' " between it's indeasingly denatronalised -c itt "th;nk-God fot.l'merica

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polarised social hierarch{.are The link bebdeen talent and inequality, and the ensumg"peopte to ctuster wether. You might continually reififorced. Ther" i" t"noenJ ot Lt"niea rnt *nneciion between p{ace " have thought lhal the advent of the rntemel ioiJf'"u" eatft

"tif"a b""au"e thgy f9{-ofi talenl ln faci, the oppo"it e n"ppun'nn "-v Ji'"iti iogett"t t* su-ting. ino"asinsly 30 iitt"i it othe/s intellect And the paces "n"* Ee'liiiilt tfre Uottom and nothing rnuch inat t"orf'ers Jr"'-ce unequal, s/ith the talent elite at the top, low{ualitv public ttoutt p'io" bett /een The middle lav", i" tu,ns o"utniui;y-"fy-ttistt "nd and

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MembeGofihe{alentelitearegoodalh€ginghumancapjtal'.They,marry.peoplelike 35 rnarry ttreir secretaries; now th€y maffy themselves- ln the heyday ot 'company men;' Binfets 'talent intell;dual capital. They. live .in o{her bankers. rhey woa in pu, rnrr "ijt'tl-ir,"ii fei alone inner-city gtredos Above all eoctaves,, avvay ,rom ordinary .iOOf".frJJ "rUr,l., f'om the lop income quartile thev oass on therr advantages t" *r,_.r,ir0.... ita.nts 3so/o in 1s76 to 50% in 1ee5 r'o'

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lhe counlties' the same thing is happeninq m None o{ thrs is pecular lo Amenca or olher nch their try hard to.sive i"r"'r 'nildren ii"ir,ilriJ-*l,aili "".n star(erlorm "hre Girl"' tells the story of two in China 'Harvard

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parents who trained their dauahter fo; H:rvard. from birth, banaging her wiih verbal siimuti, \ubjpcling lr-r ro a srr"nuous r-.Srm- ol home srudv dy and mrt,nd !u.i_ tong distances. An making hp, her swim

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But in other ways_things have got much better The number wds rn 1958. In younq s dav rhe ma.i,ocrats ..""..,,,r"J of winners is now rarger 'i.i rhan ir o" ,"#i. and the senior crvit service. rhe resr wpre tabe'ed "pitriin r"irr,*. ;i";: i;;;: ;";;'lno "rorion" nu,o* have created a mass heher e.j,,.jr,." syvem.. ano deveropidd;;;;;;Jlrrined to so younq;as fottow suit When wrilino ch,na and tnora were tLpi.-d in po""rtv.iio", rwud: rt.V ," -iPer\rr' growing so fast that thby, too, are siiferrng trom ratonrshortaq-' .

Moreover, some paoblems could prove selt correclng Many talented people nol only create tobs and weatrh, they tum rheir hands r. ph anth,opi, jdf"r eir done.lThe growinq retlrns to edreridn create incentives p..pi. f"|. g"i inemsetves ss educared, producir€ a bener-lrained wofrdorce *"rr ,p*.io L-"5ii"itv]irtiiii, ,"rir,"" spend moe on education than on envrhing. etse, "" tire one_*ira''poiicyi U,in,n"tion"r ". Oespir.

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Ji"Llr",n",rielhnic fac€-on the global talent efite overheated talent markets p.ompi companies to move production etsewhere - ro Mvsore rarhcr rhan Br^s"to,u,

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o 1^1': :.:r."thing appealins aboul.the accepl :11'.|:': wde rnequalities if thev are collntFd

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lhirds oJ the popuration befie;e lhar everyone has an equar chance to ger ahead, rar fewer people favour income redistribution than i;

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Growng weallh also means lhat so.jFtv can reward a wider range of talenls, These days, sports.stars and €ntertainers can make ;iflions. rt"." irnliu-rrJ"ii""io'r'li .*Jl_i.iiw*ii"iJn"n"1 *n" o, speciatised tatents, fiom the oiff of h.inding. his{o.y "r"1"iitr,oi" "Lo ro m. t the-abiti{y to produce a perfoa souffi6 (-rhe-besrp;io J.rl" nir.il','w.rd.,.J $16m last year). lt sometmes seems lhat lirere rs no tatent so re@ndite that you "l"d cannot make a livins oul of it. Takeru -rsunami- Kobayashi e"-" rno." ir,"n ii6ij]dii'JrJ""i"Iii. *.n0," -'--holclog ealing champion: he can eat mor; than 50 in 12 mrnutqs

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The best way to head off a backlash is fd give everybody a fair chance. This means investing in.chitdhood nutrition and pre-schoot educaiion. ft .tso

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educalional radder Deveroping counrries need to conrinue rhe march rowards unversar zs pflmary education: failure to do so wilt exacerbate sk strortages as wlli ,ial"j""or"ni"" Developed count.ies need to toughen up lheir schoots. h lh; 1-96i;;l;-r.nl"Jt"ol," "" lor,!,ering-standards in..the name-of chite_cenrred eduFlion riiJ,iffii1i" rom sctence snd mathematics. The chbf vic[ms o{ "nOu"a".pi"iusJ "r,itir[this ! /ere "*"y ,h" could nol rely on thejr parents to make up ior lhe deficiencies of lheir A0

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The success of advan@d economies is increasingly dependent nol on their physical cap at but on their capacity to mobitise their ciucns' i" 1943 [Mnston churchifi observed that'untike the uripiru" or th.-i""t,l'hi""iiit. riiri" *u o. empires of the mind.' He might have added rhat the banres .i it.l *iii o" r"itr." r..

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The rise of a global meritoqacy otfers all sorts of benefits, from higher growth in productvrly to lasler-scienlific progress. r ca; boost sociar mobirity and a[ow e[-sorts"ot weiJ lnc wonoertut rdrerirs Io oroom the talenl wars mav be a source of Unhappiness for mmpanies and counlries. 8.rt they should also be a cau;e lor cetebralton.

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