The meritocratic ideal is a core principle of the liberal script, but also a highly globalized one. While in early liberal discourse, the notion of meritocracy was positively associated with providing opportunities, it is criticized today alongside hypercompetitive individualism. Empirically, the implementation of meritocracy opens opportunities for the individual, but also legitimizes social inequalities. Evaluations of the meritocratic principle are therefore contradictory. A more realistic acknowledgment of extra-individual factors such as luck, personal networks, and systemic failures would be a crucial corrective to the aspirations of meritocracy in liberal societies.

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