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Two reasons:

1. Meritocracy tends to produce superior results to systems based on nepotism — so people who want the best outcome for their tribe should preference merit.

2. Power is the ultimate meritocracy — you have it or you don’t. One of our best strategies to reduce the raw usage of power to settle disputes within society is create a social system that roughly follows meritocracy.

Humans are social animals, but we’re also animals that like prosperity and safety.




There’s never been a meritocracy. That’s the whole point of the word being used in the satire critiquing a meritocracy. Like the points being made here.




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