I'd counter that for a definition of "merit" like "performs the duties of ones job exceptionally well", it's always a fallacy. I note that this definition of "m

I'd counter that for a definition of "merit" like "performs the duties of ones job exceptionally well", it's always a fallacy. I note that this definition of "merit" is what nearly all corporations consider when evaluating performance of employees and granting annual "merit increases". In nearly all cases, merely performing ones work well, will not gain the employee anything but more work. Sometimes there are promotions or meaningful raises, but this is the exception, not the norm. It is not in a businesses interest to pay employees more than absolutely necessary. It's a true-ism in software development that to see meaningful increases in salary one must "job hop". This reality has given rise to aphorisms such as "I pretend to work they pretend to pay me" and Johnsons "Who Moved my Cheese?". Of course merit can be hard to define, but if it's defined in a way other than performing a job well, well that's something else isn't it?