Passage: Meritocracy—the idea that social and economic rewards should be distributed based on individual talent and effort—is a seductive social ideal. It promises a 'level playing field' where the accident of birth is replaced by the rigor of achievement. However, critics argue that meritocracy often serves to legitimize existing inequalities. If success is seen as a sign of merit, then failure is seen as a sign of personal deficiency, ignoring the structural advantages (wealth, social capital, elite education) that 'merit' often hides. In a truly unequal society, a meritocracy becomes a 'hereditary' one, where the winners of the previous generation ensure their children have the resources to become the 'meritorious' of the next. Thus, meritocracy can become a tool of social closure, providing a thin veneer of fairness to a system that remains deeply entrenched in class-based privilege.