No, everybody doesn't know. Why do you think the conventional wisdom doesn't reflect that it's a buddy game rather than a meritocracy? Why is the word "meritocracy" ever even mentioned? Is it just a red herring thrown out by successful people to keep the masses suffering?
I think we disagree on what the conventional wisdom is.
I have never heard anyone successful talking about the state of things refer to a meritocracy actually existing. Lot's of comments about how some method is more of a meritocracy or closer to this hypothetical ideal. Talk to anyone about nearly any business and the advice is to make good connections. The "it's not what you know, it's who you know" is such an old saying that it's a cliche. It's "a saying". It's conventional wisdom.
The aphorism "build a better mousetrap, and the world will beat a path to your door" has only been used, during my lifetime (30 years), as an example of naivete. You also need good design and marketing and the right connections. To me, this is the conventional wisdom.
Nothing about money in the western world is a meritocracy, I honestly can't find anyone serious trying to say it is. Especially with all the number crunching lately concerned with the growing class divide in the US.
Am I ignorant? Outside of some kind of Glenn Beck style "woooo America! Fuck Yeah!" pundit that have I completely missed a meme or school of thought that is claiming a meritocracy exists (even though that's objectively wrong)?
