What does "isn't real" mean?

Is anyone selling the false reality that meritocracy perfectly exists, especially at the highest socioeconomic level?

Conversely, what does exist is that retarded notion that developed over the last decade or two that attacks meritocracy itself (Equity vs. Equality, The Post-Meritocracy Manifesto, ...etc). A notion that replaces any serious examination of why meritocracy itself doesn't exist, for some self-serving tokenism, and some demands for high remuneration for bullshit work, in arguments that are ironically, but not surprisingly, not dissimilar to how some management types justify their high pay.