What Edelgard wants to achieve is an impossible dream. At the end of the day, it is a matter of who is in power is a good or bad person. It doesn't matter if it's a meritocracy or a crests system. In the end the important thing is who is in power and how they use it, and not who could have that power, since they will only be an extremely small number of people. If all the nobles were like Rodrigue, nobody would need changes and the crest system would continue, with only the greedy ones having complaints.The problem is not the system, but that people can be good or bad, and that is undeniable. Edelgard seems to think that with her changes everything will be fixed, when in the future it will end the same. Most of the changes she makes could be accomplished without bloodshed along the way, and the change to the meritocracy doesn't solve anything. Good and bad people will continue to be born who will come to power, or who will abuse it in the future.