The fictional Widmerpool's background is meritocratic rather than aristocratic. Confucianism advocated a hierarchical, meritocratic government based on empathy, loyalty, and interpersonal relationships. Its proponents argue that the theory justifies social inequality as being meritocratic. This meritocratic system rewarded talent over birthright. This limits the fairness and justness of any meritocratic system. This ideology was shaped on the model of the meritocratic, 19th-century American foreign policy. Both accept as fair inequality based on relevant, meritocratic factors. It requires that society be fair and meritocratic. Habermas views communication and debate in the public sphere as argumentatively meritocratic. A meritocratic education and society can lead to issues. These observations made her question the meritocratic society she once thought existed in her field. British civil service was influenced by the imperial examinations system and meritocratic system of China. The civil service would remain permanent, meritocratic and politically neutral. The rabbi derives authority from achievements within a meritocratic system. The Royal Navy, however, operated on a more meritocratic, or at least socially mobile, basis.