In pointing out that "merit" can be freely defined, this piece shows that meritocracies are, in fact, arbitrary. If there's a key line, it seems to be this one:

"This is about who these people believe open source is for, and by extension, their own self-identity. Indeed, when people are challenged to explain themselves, you get nonsense and cognitive dissonance. People are being openly hypocritical, with no apparent awareness. The closer they get to confronting the truth, the more likely they are to break down in anger and confusion."

What's worth noting is that this pattern - of a previously secure group finding itself set upon by "outsiders" wanting in - is repeated in many spheres. Typically, the combination of limited self-awareness, egregious hypocrisy, and a flood of blinding, reflexive anger does not work out well for the group of people who display it.

At the same time, dis-empowering gatekeepers who behave like this tends to be a major boon for the fields they previously dominated without challenge.