Merit
We all live by a set of rules, and laws. We expect these laws to take care of us in the sense that they will bring goodness and justice. In our society we value hard work and in return we expect the benefits that are due. In the paper “Merit: Why do we value it?” written by Louis Pojman, he argues that we deserve what we earn. Other might argue that we should not benefit from our success because of our intelligence or social standings. However, there is a double standard, such as when people are rewarded in situations when they clearly should not be. That is not justice, and it is not bringing goodness when unfair actions, such as that are being rewarded.
Merit is any feature of quality that is the basis for distributing positive attribution such as praise, rewards and prizes. I believe what Pojman argues, because I also believe that people should be rewarded or punished based on their merits. Someone that works harder and trains harder than the average person, deserves better opportunities than those who do not. For example, an intern at a law firm that has spent countless hours studying, and reviewing information that will allow them to perform their abilities at the top of the game deserves the job over the bosses daughter. Lets say the bosses daughter, knows she will mostly likely get the job, because of who she is, and because of that she spends very little time in the office, and even less time reviewing valid information that will benefit not only her, but her client as well. Pojman stated “ I deserve to win the race because I have trained harder than anyone else. You deserve praise for your kind act because it was a product of a morally good will. The man or woman who works hard at a socially useful job deserves more in terms of salary than the person who loafs or works half-heartedly. ( Pojam, 1999. p. 87)
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