Children who displayed aggressive behaviour at school, such as bullying or temper outbursts, are likely to earn more money in middle age, according to a five-decade study that upends the maxim that bullies do not prosper.
They are also more likely to have higher job satisfaction and be in more desirable jobs, say researchers from the Institute for Social and Economic Research at the University of Essex.
Capitalism rewards bad behavior
I’ve had a decently long career in the corporate world. It’s definitely true that the smartest and most hard working people aren’t necessarily making the most money. If I could identify one characteristic of what seems to get people promoted and into higher paying jobs, it tends to be the ability to exert your will on others. It’s possible to do this without being a bully, but it’s pretty rare.
But the idea that capitalism a meritocracy where the smartest and hardest working people earn the most is definitely bunk.
IIRC “meritocracy” was coined as a sarcastic term for a deeply nepotistic system, mocking how it portrayed itself as elevating “the best” when it was actually just elevating inbred aristocratic failsons. Liberals of course seized upon and adopted the term unironically in much the same way Americans adopt Starship Troopers’ fascist absurdity unironically.