Are they trying to enforce "support and solidarity from peers, relatives, communities or institutions"? Because that's entirely different circle of hell than overly relying on individualism.

Yes there are some clearly good measures like free lunches at school or inclusive access requirement for disabilities, but beyond that it tends to go astray.

I believe that free (taxpayer funded) schools should not teach kids anything that will let one of them succeed vs others. Simply because the overall result - educated and cohesive society - not individual success - is their product. Otherwise they will just increase all sins society and the government are supposed to function against - inequality, division, and individual misery. Obedient, content and hardworking citizen is a desirable product of public education.

In private schools, where a student is a client, not a product, competitive skills should be taught. But it is absurd that society funds something that will strive to undermine it and will require a lot of other public spending (redistribution from successful to averages), to overcome.

There is another dark side of meritocracy that people often overlook. It results in low quality of workforce available. Because when meritocracy actually works, it produces two results:

- Smart and hardworking, industrious people, get rich

- They also realise how pointless, zero-sum competitive world is.

As a result, they hit FIRE and quit labor force. And their kids never work too. They probably become good citizens and voters - in a way average late XVIII century voter was good, as opposed to an average today's one - but they are no longer members of the labour pool. Looking at the smart people i know, i can sadly see that nearly all of them, are already there. Only the dumbasses are left to be hired. And we wonder that "the West can't get things done" anymore.