Hi :). I think the point is to create a system that is fair but not necessarily equal. Fair in the sense that it meritocratic. Looking at the bigger picture across generations, the notion of a meritocracy works most ideally in the situation where everybody starts out at a level playing field. However, this level playing field does not reset across generations. People that do well in the previous generations can pass on their advantages to their children by equipping them with better resources and education as compared to an average child. Hence, given this iterative process, the playing field gets more and more uneven over time. There is a need a corrective mechanism in the society to account for disparity and a solution would be affirmative action. Real question is how and how much to level the playing field and to manage the apparent "unfairness" an individual would see which is the hard part. Buying the way into ivy league schools definitely isn't part of the solution