In a true meritocracy, individuals' success is ideally based on their personal abilities and efforts, but in reality, _____ also play a significant role in determining one's opportunities for social mobility.

In a true meritocracy, we hope that people's success comes only from their hard work and talents. However, in reality, factors like family background, education, and social connections can greatly influence a person's chances of moving up in society. For example, if two students work equally hard, the one who has access to better schools or tutoring might have a greater chance of getting into a good college. This shows that while effort matters, external circumstances can create advantages or disadvantages that affect success. Therefore, it’s important to recognize that true fairness requires addressing these unequal opportunities.