I thought that too, once. But now I think that the concept of meritocracy is fundamentally flawed. First, it has no ability to differentiate merit manufactured

I thought that too, once. But now I think that the concept of meritocracy is fundamentally flawed. First, it has no ability to differentiate merit manufactured by previous iterations of the meritocracy game from other forms of potential or reasons to invest in a person or reward them. Second, it implicitly devalues people who seem to be lacking in merit, amplifying the effects of any sort of disadvantage. I don't know that a society based on merit can ever truly be humanitarian. This plays out in very visible ways, in America, the most meritocratic of cultures. We tolerate an astounding amount of completely avoidable misery. As an American, steeped in meritocratic thinking from birth, it's frankly scary and disorienting to imagine what things would be like if you took meritocracy off its pedestal. I think you'd see a happier society, but also a loss of the economic competitive edge that is the source of our power in the world. Meritocracy might truly be our state religion and the main thing that binds this country together.