A Sad Truth About Meritocracy

I have been reading The Meritocracy Trap by Daniel Markovits, and it has kept me thinking about the privileges I have had, and the ones I have not. The book unpacks how the modern meritocratic system, once seen as a force for fairness, has become a mechanism that not only entrenches inequality but also creates a false narrative about success: that it is solely the result of talent and hard work.

A sad truth about meritocracy is that while it claims to reward ability and effort, it often conceals the structural advantages that determine who truly gets ahead. By insisting that success is earned purely on merit, it overlooks the uneven playing field that shapes people’s starting points. For instance, a first-generation student passionate about investment banking may outperform their peers academically, mastering complex financial models and excelling in every test. However, when internship season arrives, they might find themselves locked out of meaningful opportunities — not because they are less capable, but because they lack the necessary networks. Meanwhile, a peer with similar grades secures a position at a top firm through a parent or relative who can make the right call at the right time. Meritocracy, in that sense, often rewards privilege disguised as performance.

This does not mean merit does not matter, but it does mean that we need to recognize that many of us are where we are not only because of how hard we worked, but also because of the environment that enabled our hard work to produce results. Privilege does not always come in the form of wealth or elite education. Sometimes it appears as a passport that facilitates international mobility, a high school teacher who believed in your potential, or a parent who could afford to let you take an unpaid internship. It might be something as simple and as powerful as having someone to edit your essays, make introductions, or expose you to opportunities beyond your immediate reality.

There is nothing wrong with having privilege. What is wrong is pretending it does not exist or believing that it invalidates the effort we have put in. In fact, acknowledging our privilege can be freeing. It invites humility, cultivates empathy, and most importantly, challenges the harmful idea that those who struggle must simply not be trying hard enough.

Reading The Meritocracy Trap did not only make me critique the system; it made me reflect on my own journey. It reminded me to hold space for both — the effort I have poured into becoming who I am, and the invisible hands, both seen and unseen, that made parts of that journey possible.

If anything, this is a call to build a world where merit is not measured solely by outcomes, but where opportunity is truly accessible to all, regardless of who their parents know, where they were born, or what their last name sounds like.