The word "meritocracy" was coined in 1958 by Michael Young to lampoon the idea of it. He hadn't changed his mind since. He wrote this in 2001: So assured have

The word "meritocracy" was coined in 1958 by Michael Young to lampoon the idea of it. He hadn't changed his mind since. He wrote this in 2001: So assured have the elite become that there is almost no block on the rewards they arrogate to themselves. The old restraints of the business world have been lifted and, as the book also predicted, all manner of new ways for people to feather their own nests have been invented and exploited. Salaries and fees have shot up. Generous share option schemes have proliferated. Top bonuses and golden handshakes have multiplied. As a result, general inequality has been becoming more grievous with every year that passes, and without a bleat from the leaders of the party who once spoke up so trenchantly and characteristically for greater equality https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2001/jun/29/comment https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2001/jun/29/comment