How "meritocracy" went from a joke to a dogma, and destroyed the lives of everyone it touched

Indeed, as has been historically so & to even greater extents.

My sense is that we are in violent agreement on many of the points you’ve made. And as you so very importantly used the word ‘many’, I gather you agree that, as wealth and power should not reflexively signify merit, neither should their possession automatically confer guilt. Each person’s story is unique.