[kiba]

Meritocracy is a fallacious idea exactly because it ignores social context. It's the equivalent of talking about spherical cows. Meritocracy not only assumes you can judge merit perfectly and that merit is expressed perfectly, but also that it is observed and rewarded perfectly. None of these is true and none of this can be true in any human society.

Meritocracy is a form of elitism, perfect ability to select by merit or not. We would have end up with a moneyed elite either way.