Is social equality an ideal that should be pursued?

People are different from each other, right? They have varying sets of qualities and disqualities. Wouldn't that mean that some people might deserve better treatment than others?

Let's think of a fictional perfect society. Should everyone have equal rights and equal opportunities or should those people be divided between the worthy and the not so worthy? Which model would propel growth?

I'm on the side that social equality is an ideal that can't work very well, but either way there will be people dissatisfied, that are bothered by the system or their positions.