You made the claim. Evidence is the job of the one making the claim. But, consider a good sports team. The coach is not chosen because he used underhanded ta

You made the claim. Evidence is the job of the one making the claim. But, consider a good sports team. The coach is not chosen because he used underhanded tactics to triumph over other coaching candidates, but because he has a track record of being able to coach. The players are chosen, not because they win political contests, but because they're better at playing the game. The starters are chosen, not because they used deception, but because they're actually better players than the ones who are not starters. And yes, I know you can find teams that are power structures rather than meritocracies. They tend to be the worst teams, though.