The Myth of Meritocracy: Why It's Better to be Born Rich than Smart

Is it better to be born rich with below average intelligence, or poor with above average intelligence. If we lived in a society that actually upheld the values of meritocracy and equality of opportunity, the answer would be clear: you would choose the natural gifts because they would give you the best chance to succeed. But we all know that equality of opportunity and meritocracy are largely mythologies, and while it makes people uncomfortable to admit this, two recent studies from the United States demonstrate that the children of the wealthy—even low achievers--have better life outcomes than the high achievers from low-income backgrounds. Asking why this is the case serves as the goal of this video, but the answer isn’t that the children of the poor have genetic or cultural weaknesses that make them less likely to succeed. Rather, the reality is that the children of the rich have greater access to tools which allow for them to mask their weaknesses and highlight their strengths in a way poor children d