Ethical Justification of Meritocracy in Cicero’s Conceptions of vir bonus

Abstract

The ideal of a society composed of virtuous members capable of the best governance has traditionally been widely discussed in social-philosophical and ethical thought. The classical concepts of Plato and Aristotle laid the foundations for this idea. While Plato emphasized the role of the wisdom of philosopher-rulers, Aristotle relied on the numerical superiority of moderate citizens capable of acting rightly in concrete circumstances. These views anticipated the twentieth-century meritocratic theory, in which intellectual abilities and efforts determine the right to power. Contemporary criticism of meritocracy points to the threat of elite privileges and the absence of objective criteria for selecting the most deserving. In this context, Cicero’s theory attracts attention by proposing universalism, a comprehensive approach, and an ethical basis of power. Having experienced the crisis of the late Roman Republic, Cicero developed the idea of concordia ordinum (the harmony of social orders) and consensus omnium bonorum (the consensus of all well-intentioned citizens), linking them to the moral mission of leaders–the optimates–and viri boni. Cicero emphasized the importance of dignitas (dignity) and otium cum dignitate (leisure with dignity) as ideals, as well as the necessity of moral responsibility and service to the common good. His conceptions of virtuous citizens and their role in the state constitute a humanistic alternative to the elitist meritocratic view, taking into account actual social practice and the complexity of society, which renders them relevant to contemporary issues of democracy, elitism, and political morality. Thus, the evolution of Cicero’s ideas demonstrates a departure from narrowly elitist models of power toward a more flexible, morally oriented model based on the unification of well-intentioned citizens to preserve social harmony and the welfare of society. The views proposed by Cicero allow avoidance of the extremes of Plato’s “rule of the wise” and the widespread technocratic management ideas. They can be fully adapted to modern society, whose complexity and divergent interests of its members suggest the possibility of devising an optimal model for formulating common goals and proposing means to achieve them based on ethical criteria and with consideration of the ethical competencies of its active members.