Merit system is highly unfavorable particularly to the new members for growing in the ranks but concept of "Merit" will attract crowd to the platform like steemit where power of liking good content is in the hands of all I think.
The truth is that what makes a good and constructive post remains a subject of emotion determined by the person giving out the merit to the post. Like the saying, "Beauty lies in the eyes of the beholder." Another person's merited post may not deserve a read by another or a second read. Besides all that, there are sections and users some people feel will always write good posts and they award them merits even when not constructive.