All you need to succeed in our meritocracy is privilege
We cannot say we weren’t warned. In his dystopian satire The Rise of the Meritocracy, published in 1958, Michael Young warned that meritocracy wouldn’t lead to equality but to a new, more vicious form of elitism. That is exactly what has happened. Inequalities of wealth and income are as ever but, more importantly, the new elite makes no apologies for its privileges, including the privilege of ensuring an easy passage through life for its own children.
guardian.co.uk