Is Inequality Ever Justified? Insights From Zhuangzi’s ‘Robber Zhi’

Abstract

This article offers a philosophical critique of meritocratic ideology via the Zhuangzi, focussing on the ‘Robber Zhi’ chapter as a philosophical intervention against the Confucian justification of hierarchy and inequality. To show this, I first demonstrate the meritocratic tendencies of Confucian philosophy through two key components: (1) just hierarchy, and (2) equality of opportunity, then I look at the chapter’s arguments against these concepts, showing that: (1) moral striving alienates individuals from their well-being by demanding sacrifices for abstract ideals; (2) values lack stable standards and are inseparable from social circumstances; (3) hierarchies are not reliable reflections of moral worth but products of arbitrary social dynamics; and (4) individual agency is a myth, as all actions are co-produced by contingent conditions. Finally, I show how Zhuangzi, through Robber Zi and elsewhere in the text, forms a radical critique of meritocracy that destabilizes its epistemic, moral, and political foundations.