Similarly, the famous are more likely to influence decision-making than the rank and file, regardless of what they have done recently. People like Mark Shuttleworth or corporations like Google can buy their way to influence. Community projects can find their governing bodies dominated by their corporate sponsors, as has usually been the case with Fedora. Although meritocracy is the ideal, it is almost never the sole practice.

My comments:

What do “people like Mark Shuttleworth or corporations like Google” have in common?

Right. They’re all rich.

Here, “people like Mark Shuttleworth or corporations like Google” are accused of using their money and wealth to get their way around, i.e. to achieve their goals.

And practically speaking, there’s little anyone can do about it, capitalism being capitalism. Money has its influences and therefore, quite naturally “people like Mark Shuttleworth or corporations like Google” do throw their financial weight around like a heavyweight sumo wrestler literally throws his bodily weight around on the mat.

“Although meritocracy is the ideal, it is almost never the sole practice” – very true.

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本文僅代表作者本人觀點，與本網立場無關。歡迎大家討論學術問題，尊重他人，禁止人身攻擊和發布一切違反國家現行法律法規的內容。

About the author:

Zhang Xin（張欣） has been with China Daily since 1988, when he graduated from Beijing Foreign Studies University. Write him at: zhangxin@chinadaily.com.cn, or raise a question for potential use in a future column.