A Hacker News post tonight reminded me about Meritocracy; which I've always found to be a wonderful theory (it's a great form of governance).

Unfortunately the few times I tried to be part of a such a community they crashed and burned, badly. It seems there is a problem - a crucial and fundamental flaw - in meritocratic societies.....

...eventually (usually sooner rather than later) someone asks the question:

Exactly how do we define merit?
Thence the arguments begin :)