Flaws in the Meritocracy

by Conor Friedersdorf

An e-mailer writes, "Higher education is the most meritocratic filter we've got to inform decisions about career advancement. Kids who excel at elite colleges are almost all extremely smart and hard working, so what's the problem? These people deserve to make up the ruling class more than anyone else you're going to find."

This statement vastly overestimates the extent to which admissions at elite colleges is a meritocratic process. It's a mindset I encountered a lot...