It's closer to the truth to say that meritocracy itself is a crapshoot. Above a certain level of exclusivity and skill and competition, 'merit' divorces itself from the actual work. If there are ten jobs for a thousand applicants, and all the applicants are perfectly capable of doing the job (because honestly most jobs level out in demands at some point), then the choice must come down to factors only marginally related to a merit actually connected to the work. Usually we kind of lie to ourselves and pretend the other factors are connected.