impostor syndrome is a psychological pattern in which an individual doubts their skills, talents or accomplishments and has a persistent internalized fear of being exposed as a "fraud".
of course it's about alienation, not that they're lazy or inherently bad in some way:
"If you don't like your job, you don't strike. Just go in every day and do it really half assed. That's the American way!" - comrade Homer Simpson
I don't think it's so much that it's not real, it's just a symptom of a human being recognizing the false meritocracy.
Like, yeah, the hierarchy is bullshit. There probably is someone who could do your job much better, and they were never given a chance.
You just have to confront that reality and internalize it. You don't "deserve" what you have, no one does, or can. The entire idea runs contrary to all human nature.
What turns people into monsters is trying to convince themselves that they do deserve it, that the filthy people beneath them deserve everything they get, because they didn't work hard enough. Nothing is more toxic to class solidarity, and it's where PMC psychos come from.
If you're being affected by imposter syndrome, look at the former president and his fail children. This system doesn't reward people based on "merit."