Slightly different. A meritocracy builds up reputational capital, which is then slowly consumed during and after the transformation until it's all used up. Shitcoin projects never have that initial build up, except by riding on Bitcoin's coattails maybe. It's that built up trust and respectibilty that lets mediocrities survive as long as they do. Fortunately us bitcoiners don't blindly trust, "slay your heros" and all that.