I think “meritocratic competitive default mode” is not looking deep enough. Putting aside any instances of, for example, rich idiots getting admitted to univers

I think “meritocratic competitive default mode” is not looking deep enough. Putting aside any instances of, for example, rich idiots getting admitted to universities just because they’re rich, there is still a massive problem with admitting people to universities based “on merit”. People growing up in lower socioeconomic backgrounds are going to have had a lower quality of education prior to applying for entrance to university, and most processes I’ve read about don’t really take this into account. As a result, comparing everyone equally across the same (for example) entrance exam means that you end up selecting for people from higher socio-economic backgrounds. I don’t know a good solution to this, but I think it’s something that needs to not be forgotten when discussing “meritocracies”.