It depends on your definition of merit. Is it based on ability to acquire the skills to perform top-drawer work, or based on something else, like the desirabil

It depends on your definition of merit. Is it based on ability to acquire the skills to perform top-drawer work, or based on something else, like the desirability of the candidate based on their family or business connections or other factors that make them more marketable, even if their abilities are only average? Most Americans think "meritocracy" refers to the former. The reality is that it nearly always refers to the latter.