That sounds kind of nice actually.
If that was actually the case why would the mediocre straight white male feel threatened?
Honestly that would be a pretty powerful safety net.
Because revealing that gets the majority of people who aren't straight white males united in opposition against it, while the myth of meritocracy, as long as the facade holds up, gets at least some significant share of the losers to buy into the system, which reinforces it's stability to the benefit of the straight white male winners.
> Honestly that would be a pretty powerful safety net.
It is, as long as only the beneficiaries see it, and as long as they don't have any kind of moral compass.
If everyone else sees it (including beneficiaries with a moral compass), they start lighting it on fire, which makes it less effective of a safety net.
Why would that be the case? What would hold all of these very different groups together?
The obvious outcome is a balkanization of the workforce (and maybe broader society).
Why would that scare the mediocre people in the most powerful group?
Yes, I think that’s true - especially in tech. Look at all the amazing open source contributions from people far worse off than even the bottom quartile of Americans.