The American system is certainly more meritocratic than feudal Europe or traditional India; but the idea of meritocracy is as much a justification for inequality as it is an actual principle of stratification.
与封建的欧洲或传统的印度相比, 美国的制度当然更加精英化;但贤能政治的理念既是不平等的正当理由, 也是实际的分层原则。