Merit is in such a way that at least, 1 merit and more would be given in a week to good posters. I do kit see anything bad in this. But maybe this may lead to merit abuse.
While it can be a tool for improvements of post quality, on the other hand it will also open for merit exchange or just merit abuse lately.
If there is merit exchange, it does not defeat the purpose of merit system as long as it is sent to a quality posts that are worth it. But very possible this can lead to merit abuse. But anyone abusing the merit wrongly might layer be known as he sends merit to unworthy posts.