Culture and Inequality on Well-Being: Meritocratic Culture Moderates the Relation between Income Inequality and Subjective Well-Being

This study investigates whether meritocratic culture moderates the relationship between income inequality and subjective well-being using cross-national data from the World Values Survey (1990–2023). Building on research that connects culture to the amplification of inequality’s social impact, I argue that meritocratic narratives may either dampen or intensify the psychological burden of inequality, depending on how they shape individuals’ preferences and lived experiences. Multilevel regression analyses reveal that income inequality is negatively associated with subjective well-being. More importantly, both personal and public forms of meritocratic culture significantly moderate this relationship—intensifying its negative effects. Meritocratic culture, far from neutralizing the harms of inequality, may act as a cultural amplifier—deepening the emotional and social damage inflicted by unjust structural conditions. The results highlight a previously underexplored mechanism by which inequality can harm well-being, extending beyond economic conditions to the cultural meanings attached to success and failure. This study contributes to the literature by introducing meritocratic culture as a key moderator in the inequality–well-being link and emphasizing the value of cultural analysis in social epidemiology. It further calls for greater attention to how cultural narratives interact with structural inequality, especially in societies with strong meritocratic ideals. The findings have implications for both theory and policy, suggesting that addressing inequality requires engaging with the cultural frameworks that legitimize it.