Walaupun buku tersebut memberi imej yang negatif terhadap meritokrasi, masih ramai yang percaya dengan kebaikan sistem ini didalam [[masyarakat]]. Menurut penyokong meritokrasi, sistem ini adalah lebih adil dan produktif, berbanding sistem kerajaan yang lain yang berdasarkan status [[sosial]] atau [[ras]].
Kebanyakan sistem kerajaan mengandungi beberapa unsur meritokrasi. Misalnya dalam [[demokrasi perwakilan]], parti-parti politik dan para pengundinya menggunakan prestasi calon masing-masing untuk berkempen dalam [[pilihan raya]]. Namun demikian, meritokrasi yang tulen tidak wujud di zaman ini.
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There have been other criticisms of the notion of meritocracy in addition to Young's original criticism that a system in which social position is determined by objective characteristics would still be inegalitarian and unstable. Proponents of [[critical theory]] often argue that '''merit''' is defined by the power elite simply to legitimize a system in which social status is actually determined by class, birth, and wealth.
Most governmental systems contain some elements of meritocracy. For instance, in most [[representative democracy|representative democracies]], parties and voters use the performance of candidates in campaigning or in office to determine who should be re-elected and what senior positions they may hold. Elected officers usually also hire expert advisers to help formulate policies. However, pure meritocracies are virtually unknown.
