I have been watching its arrival for a number of years, and now it has arrived–the transformation of our society from merit-based to status- based. This is a major revolution.
“From status to contract” was Sir Henry Maine’s description of the rise of a merit-based society in which aristocratic privilege was eliminated and equality under the law instituted. This revolution has now been overthrown, and we as a society have moved back to status as determined by race and gender. If you are a member of an “under-represented” race or gender, you enjoy “diversity status” and preference in hiring and promotion just as aristocrats did in the hierarchy of social class.