Wafer Thin

You can’t have a discussion about Meritocracy, without a discussion about Privilege. It is like buying shares in a business based on its share price movements alone, without looking at the balance sheet, income statement and cash flows. That is trading, not investing. Fundamentals matter. Wafer thin margins can make Mr Creosote look really profitable, until you see how much debt he has and take cover for the imminent explosion. Huge revenues can be more than swallowed by runaway costs. Valuable tangible assets may have to be sold at a fraction of their normal market price because of poor cash flow management. Meritocracy is just a number. Numbers are meaningless when they stand alone. They only have value in comparison. Privilege may be messy and qualitative unlike conspicuous merit. Sorry. You have to do the work. The work is deeper than prejudice. Even the prejudice you don’t know you have till someone shows you a mirror.