[9급 국가직 영어 2025년 18번]

The idea that society should allocate economic rewards and positions of responsibility according to merit is appealing for several reasons.

(A) An economic system that rewards effort, initiative, and talent is likely to be more productive than one that pays everyone the same, regardless of contribution, or that hands out desirable social positions based on favoritism.

(B) Rewarding people strictly on their merits also has the virtue of fairness; it does not discriminate on any basis other than achievement.

(C) Two of these reasons are generalized versions of the case for merit in hiring─efficiency and fairness.