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From the mid 1980s, the dominant discourse of the management literature promotes a new organizational model that overcomes the dysfunctions of the bureaucratic model. On the one hand, this discourse highlights the rise of a new society in which knowledge is the main factor of production. On the other hand, it emphasizes the need that organizations in this new environment adopt flatter, modular, more flexible, network forms of organizating, which provide new capabilities to employees and foster autonomy, participation, and innovation. In this paper, I analyze this discourse as an ideology and test against the empirical evidence two of its main tenets: (1) the ascent of a meritocratic society and (2) the end of alienation in work as a result of the power, autonomy, and self-direction achieved by employees. Both theses are not supported by the available evidence, which demonstrates the ideological, legitimating character of the discourse that postulates them. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]