[mc32]

I don't know if the first point is accurate.

If a system is meritocratic, doesn't that mean that merit is the filter?

Unless it's not based on merit (ability to deliver + actual delivery) then it does not guarantee that offspring of the meritous will merit advantageous position.

I think the presumption is everyone is given access to tools and then its up to the participants to take advantage of those tools. Not everyone has the same aptitude or ability, so not everyone will merit the desired achievements. What the spread between achievement and non achievement is, depends on their rules (taxes, other handicaps, etc).

Regarding Brexit, does it not potentially narrow the divergence between wealthy and non-wealthy? I.e. it has an opportunity to decrease inequality, even if it may result in diminished wealth for both?

[frobozz]

That first point is one of the main thrusts of The Rise of the Meritocracy.

A true meritocracy is unlikely because of the advantages that the entrenched higher classes pass on to their descendents.

In part this can be higher ability due to better education.

However, another feature is by shaping the attitudes of a society to favour particular forms of achievement over others.

The only way to achieve a "pure" meritocracy as you describe it, would be to separate children from their parents before age 1, raise them all collectively, and instigate a 100% inheritance tax.

[meheleventyone]

Calling a system meritocratic is like describing one as democratic it’s a statement of values rather than outcomes. The 11 plus is an example of implementation of meritocracy as parliamentary democracy is of democracy. Neither value is sufficient to prevent negative outcomes in implementation. So we see entrenched ‘worth’ divides and entrenched political parties. As per the article Michael Young actually coined the term meritocracy in order to criticise it and the negative outcomes it had produced. A lot of online debate seems overly focused on the idea that valuing merit can only bring positive outcomes.