When you really think about it, believing whole-heartedly in meritocracy is a dangerous thing. It enables you to look down on others and justify inequality. Believing that the world runs on meritocracy is a disincentive for fixing problems of unfairness in society and just leads farther and farther from actual meritocracy. There certainly is an aspect of meritocracy in society, but when you really think about it, it seems surprising how little the big forces in the world actually run on it. Celebrities, politics, people with power; it seems a lot of those people owe a lot to connections and privileges. Maybe they are indeed capable, but would they have gotten there if it weren't for some special advantage? With so many capable persons in any given pursuit, you think maybe the special advantages are the only things that matter.