Abstract:
This presentation explores the conceptual intersections and empirical relationships between market justice preferences and meritocratic beliefs. While both constructs are rooted in normative views about fairness and the distribution of resources, they diverge in their emphasis: market justice prioritizes outcomes based on market dynamics and individual contribution, whereas meritocracy emphasizes reward based on talent and effort, ideally independent of inherited privilege. Drawing on evidence from recent studies conducted with both adult and young populations, this study examines how these constructs are operationalized in contemporary social research, highlighting key challenges in their measurement and the implications for comparative analysis. Preliminary findings suggest that although meritocracy and market justice often correlate, they may lead to distinct policy preferences, particularly in areas such as health, pensions, and education. The presentation discusses methodological issues—such as scale validity and dimensional overlap—and proposes a framework to disentangle normative support for meritocratic ideals from acceptance of market-based inequalities. Based on these insights, I outline a research agenda for the coming years, aimed at advancing the theoretical and empirical understanding of distributive justice in democratic societies.