Do the best rise to the top?

Here's my leadership question for the day:

"Do you think we live in a meritocracy?"

I'll quote Webster's definition for the word meritocracy since it's not a word most of us use everyday.

• 1. a system in which the talented are chosen and moved ahead on the basis of their achievement
• 2. leadership selected on the basis of intellectual criteria
  
  http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/meritocracy

When I was about twenty years old I read some of Ayn Rand's writings. This word, meritocracy, seems to jump back in my mind to impressions and feelings I had from her writings in Atlas Shrugged and Anthem.

• Anyway, what are you thinking about this word and this post and how does it relate to leadership, our students, and even today's leaders?
• How do we instill values in our youth to make them the greatest leaders of their time?
• How does one become tomorrow's leader - it is based on leadership ability or something else?