Cruel Meritocracy in 21st-Century U.S. Literary Narratives: An Introduction

This special issue addresses the myth of meritocracy that permeates today’s U.S. society, looking particularly at its limits and its representation in contemporary literary narratives. While the roots of this myth are historically grounded in the foundational ideals of the United States, meritocracy has come under intense scrutiny in light of recent sociopolitical events and the current economic climate (cf. Markovits 2019; Sandel 2020; Wooldridge 2021). Thus, drawing on Lauren Berlant’s seminal concept of “cruel optimism” (2001), we propose the term “cruel meritocracy” to highlight the negative impact of an unattainable system of economic mobility for underprivileged people—and fictional characters. Berlant uses the concept of cruel optimism to describe how individuals remain attached to unachievable or damaging ideals, such as the American Dream. This attachment ultimately has a negative impact of their well-being and leads to ongoing dissatisfaction and disappointment. We present “cruel meritocracy” as a critical lens, one intended to capture not only the tyranny and unfairness that underlies this ideology, but also the deep attachment to merit within a society that has always valued and continues to prize its force as a driver of self-improvement.