So could we then say based upon your comment and the parent that a meritocracy is antagonistic to diversity.  Not trying to be argumentative, just more of a thought exercise.  If a meritocracy chooses the best, and the wealthiest tend to have the resources and opportunity to make themselves better, then always choosing based upon merit means favoring less diverse backgrounds.  Additionally, we tend to always view ourselves as ‘having merit.’  So we will also be predisposed to choose people like ourselves further hindering diversity.  I personally have always favored the idea of being meritocratic, but am also leaning more toward purely favoring diversity, not diversity of superficial attributes, but the diversity of peoples background.  I feel it helps to expand the breadth of knowledge of the team and avoid blindspots.