Meritocracy doesn’t exist, and believing it does is bad for you

Luck intervenes by granting people merit, and again by furnishing circumstances in which merit can translate into success. Frank cites a study in which simply asking subjects to recall the external factors (luck, help from others) that had contributed to their successes in life made them much more likely to give to charity than those who were asked to remember the internal factors (effort, skill). That is why, under the assumption of meritocracy, the very notion that personal success is the result of “luck” can be insulting.

Source: www.fastcompany.com