You are completely correct if the meritocracy fails to provide a fair allocation of resources. The way it is going, the "merit" scale equates merit with abilit

You are completely correct if the meritocracy fails to provide a fair allocation of resources. The way it is going, the "merit" scale equates merit with ability to gain control of money. Honesty doesn't even matter; there are many more Madoffs and SBFs of the world that haven't yet gotten caught, and everyone hails them (at least until they fall). Madoff died in jail, but only after he lived decades at the top; some would see that as a good life bargain career plan. If we build a real meritocracy AND provide for equitable distribution of resources to even the least among us, we can do very well. There is a lot of movement in that direction, but until the abusers at the top get the point that there will be no society even worth living above without equity, we could be headed for real darkness.