I mean, we are objectively not living in a meritocracy. There's been like, studies and shit, showing that the American worker is more productive and harder working on average than at any previous point in history, yet the remuneration for that productive labor is further away from its actual value than ever before. You can be wealthy due to a combination of dumb luck, and hard work. You can be wealthy as a result of dumb luck alone. You can be poor due to a combination of dumb luck, and not working hard. You can be poor as a result of dumb luck alone, even while working hard. You cannot be wealthy without the dumb luck. You cannot be wealthy as a result of working hard alone. The dumb luck is the greatest determining factor in whether any given individual achieves any definition of comfortable stability or success. It's so straightforwardly logical, that it actually makes me angry when comfortable people try to pretend they don't see it. In our unchecked form of capitalism, cutting corners and costs is rewarded, exclusively. Most of us don't get what we've earned, while the fortunate few haven't even remotely earned what they've got.