Abstract
Present as one of the slogans of contemporary organizational management, the understanding related to meritocracy is adjusted to the socio-historical context and changes over time. In this sense, the current understanding of the concept coincides with transformations that occurred in labor relations in the last decades of the twentieth century. However, the character of ideological domination of these flexible professional relations would have acted for the sequestration of the workers’ subjectivity and their subjective precariousness, in favor of organizational interests. Thus, the objective of this theoretical essay is to propose a critical reflection on the current understanding of meritocracy as a tool of managerialist ideology, resulting from the transformations in labor relations in the final decades of the last century. It is intended, therefore, to contribute to the debate about the concept from a critical perspective of ideology, as an alternative to the widespread classification of the ideological and affirmative dimensions, also allowing reflexive action for individual emancipation and the transformation of social reality.
Keywords:
Meritocracy; Managerialist Ideology; Capture of Subjectivity; Flexibilization of Labor Relations