Meritocracy will never work in the long run. Politics will get in the way, as it always has.
The only difference between brown nosing and ass kissing is depth perception.
Merit is such an arbitrary thing; Management thinks landing with 45 minutes of fuel "meritable" for the fuel tankering it saves, a good Captain will use local knowledge to add fuel so he doesn't have to divert or land short. You don't save fuel, you block with it.
Managements "Merit" is a pilot who doesn't use sick leave", A good pilot won't show up feeling under the weather and infecting other crews.
"Merit" is you the pilot flying for peanuts so the Company can craft business deals outside of your airline so they can pay managers finder's fees and Golden Parachutes to themselves.
Too many of you young punks will fly for nothing just to wear the uniform.
Skies are full of pilots flying without a price on their work everywhere, now. Better jobs can be found outside of aviation; many furloughed pilots in the US are finding work outside of Aviation rather than to work for $20 thousand a yearflying an RJ.
And at my airline of 7000 pilots many narrow body first officers are taking leaves of absences or even quitting rather than fly 95 hours a month with 11 days off a month, of which three days off are moveable at the crew desks discretion.