【作者简介】刘铖 南京大学教育研究院;余秀兰 南京大学教育研究院;云如先 南京大学教育研究院

【文章来源】《社会》2024年第4期

【内容提要】优绩主义陷阱实质是个人主义归因偏误：以“能力+努力=成功”掩盖出身和运气的影响。其在西方制造出“精英的傲慢”和“底层的怨恨”，最终导致社会撕裂。在中国，高考作为典型的优绩制，学生们对高考分层的归因能够体现优绩主义陷阱在中国情境中的表现。通过比较城市籍精英学子和农村籍二本学生这两类群体在归因自己和对方的高考结果时所运用的图式，本研究发现，“上下有别”的归因现象虽部分印证了优绩主义陷阱的理论假设，但是“谦虚”心理可能部分缓解了“精英的傲慢”；不同于西方的是，两类群体都持有“先赋应得”观念：认为天赋、出身等作为非个体可控的因素，是不置可否的或者具有正当性的。“先赋应得”观念与罗尔斯正义论中的“反应得”原则不同，它反而和优绩主义形成强功能关系，缓冲了优绩主义陷阱在中国可能产生的类似于西方的社会后果，然而它也隐藏着更深层次的文化陷阱。鉴于此，应将优绩主义嵌入中国情境中进行分析，而非“脱嵌”地迁移现有理论进行解释。

【关 键 词】优绩主义, 上下有别, 先赋应得, 教育不平等

【基金项目】本研究得到国家社会科学基金（教育学）一般课题“高校困难学生社会互动中情感能量的形成机制研究”（BIA230183）的支持。

【全文链接】https://www.society.shu.edu.cn/CN/Y2024/V44/I4/26

Examining the Meritocracy Trap in China：From “Upper-Lower Distinction” to “Ascribed-Desert”

Abstract: From Michael Young to Michael Sandel，the meritocratic trap has remained a significant public and academic issue that has sparked ongoing debates. Fundamentally，the meritocracy trap，with the potential to disrupt social harmony and shared prosperity，represents a form of individualistic attribution bias，which conceals one’s family background and luck behind the formula of“ability+effort=success”. Consequently，the meritocracy trap creates arrogance among the elites and resentment among the underclass in Western societies，and ultimately leads to social fragmentation. This study aims to reveal the different manifestations of the meritocracy trap in China by examining Chinese students’ attribution towards the country’s unique form of meritocracy—gaokao. With the help of a qualitative research design，we conducted a comparative analysis of the intuitive attribution schemas used by two groups：urban students from elite universities vs rural students from second-tier universities，in attributing their own and each other’s success or failure. The study identifies a phenomenon called “upper-lower distinction”（上下有别），indicating that the structural degree of individual attribution depends on the relative social positions between the self and the attribution target. This partially supports the theoretical hypothesis of the meritocracy trap，but the unique Chinese culture of modesty somewhat mitigates the arrogance of the elites. More crucially，the study reveals a concept，termed “ascribed-desert”（先赋应得），is shared by both groups. It consists of a few Chinese cultural notions，including the Taoist concept of “naturalness”，consequentialism，and “ethical standard”. The idea holds that talent and pedigree，viewed as uncontrollable elements，should be considered as neutral or even legitimate. The notion of “ascribed-desert”，unlike the desert-less principle in John Rawls’s theory of justice，is the conceptual basis upon which the Chinese meritocracy trap rests. It forms a strong functional relationship with the Chinese meritocracy trap，buffering it from possible social consequences similar to those in the West. However，it also conceals deeper cultural pitfalls. The main contribution of this study is to advance the theoretical discussion related to the meritocracy trap with Chinese particularity.

Key words: meritocracy, “upper-lower distinction”, “ascribed-desert”, educational inequality