I would say, believing that some are more deserving and some are less deserving is integral to elitism in general, which includes liberalism but is not limited to it. Liberals appear to take on a more paternal view of those who society deems less deserving, which is still a validation of elitism, but less sneering than the more overt forms. As seen in the mindset of charity*. This enables liberalism to sanitize itself as an ideology that cares, without supporting systemic changes in the power structure that would guarantee assistance and largely eliminate the need for voluntary charity.

*Not to say that the practice of voluntarily helping out someone in need is inherently elitist (far from it), but that elitist power structures co-opt this otherwise communal mindset to pass off social responsibility to the individual and the voluntary; thereby further entrenching the idea that the powerful don't owe anyone anything.