This Economist article paints a rather glum picture of meritocracy - or rather, the paradox of meritocracy. The apparent benefit of globalisation and all those other fancy nomenclatures, was that money would flow to merit, rather than connections, as it had in the past. What is happening, at least in America as this article states, is that the clever rich are turning themselves into an entrenched elitist. Education is at the centre of this transformation. No point spending your live to reach the top of the ladder, only to find it leaning against the wrong wall?