Sorry, but you're already living in the “Squid Game”
&gt; Meritocracy is a fallacious idea – a convenient lie told to those whose lack of wealth or social class leaves them at a distinct disadvantage.<p>This is a bit oversimplified. Meritocracy is not an <i>outright</i> fallacious idea, but depending on the subject, there is a certain threshold of opportunity above which it becomes the dominant force, and for many that threshold is out of reach.<p>For instance, learning to program is fairly &quot;accessible&quot; today, but even it has certain minimum requirements, a threshold of opportunity above which the playground becomes more equal: You need a computer, internet access, enough free time... eventually you need a job. The one that really generalises against meritocracy is &quot;you need free time&quot;, because most of the world is fighting for their next paycheck and are not in a position to attempt to improve their life. I believe this is what the author is getting at, wealth and &quot;social class&quot; are just an indirect way of saying &quot;the freedom to pursue more opportunities&quot;.<p>However throwing out meritocracy completely is not the solution to this, if replaced with ideas revolving around inclusivity and equality alone it will fall apart - meritocracy <i>is</i> part of equality, it&#x27;s just not all of it, it doesn&#x27;t automatically solve equal opportunity... And this is where I think the author is missing the point: the world, society, government does little to ensure equal opportunity - This is the point squid game is making, everyone starts equal unlike reality.