That does not undermine the thesis that the society is basically a meritocracy - it rewards everyone proportional to their contributions, it's just that some people are poised by birth to be able to contribute more than others.
If US weren't a meritocracy, they would promote incompetent people to positions of power. This for to a large degree does not happen - for example, you can't get a $500k FAANG job just because you have an uncle there. On the other hand, if you were born in a family with right values, have the right genes and worked your ass off in school, you are a powerhouse in terms of your ability to contribute and will get that job (simplification, of course).
"If US weren't a meritocracy, they would promote incompetent people to positions of power. This for to a large degree does not happen - for example, you can't get a $500k FAANG job just because you have an uncle there."
I think you'll find that a large and potentially growing number of americans disagree profoundly with this statement. Higher-paid = works harder/produces more is pretty much at the core of this disagreement
Specifically your claim that the US (or the west more generally) doesn't promote incompetent people to positions of power would be completely laughable to pretty much everyone I know (and I don't even mean anything regarding the government). Of course my peers are generally young, and university educated like myself, and I am from europe, not NA, but even my right-wing friends don't hold it self evident that a person in a position of power is automatically competent. We've all worked with and under far too many frustratingly underqualified or straight-up clueless people to give such a notion any credit at all.
Well-connected parents get you into well-connected schools, which get you into well-compensated jobs. I'll take your FAANG example and raise you all of Wall St.
If US weren't a meritocracy, they would promote incompetent people to positions of power. This for to a large degree does not happen - for example, you can't get a $500k FAANG job just because you have an uncle there. On the other hand, if you were born in a family with right values, have the right genes and worked your ass off in school, you are a powerhouse in terms of your ability to contribute and will get that job (simplification, of course).