[TheOtherHobbes]

Unless you're doing management-by-seance, dead people - no matter how exceptional - don't run organisations.

And besides, only private wealth is subject to inheritance tax. Public corporations don't die with their founders, and private businesses are assessed for value, usually with significant tax breaks.

None of this changes the fact that inheritance is the opposite of true meritocracy. It gives the mediocre an unearned safety net and starves, stresses, and distracts talent from a modest background.

[RhysU]

Why is meritocracy always viewed as a single generation concept? Memes, especially effective ones, transcend generations and are quite effectively passed down from parent to progeny. I certainly am more effective because of ideas my forefathers taught my father who, in turn, taught me.