The base assumption of the article: We've moved away from ancestral privilege (think: inherited titles of nobility) to an era of ability based privilege (think,

The base assumption of the article: We've moved away from ancestral privilege (think: inherited titles of nobility) to an era of ability based privilege (think, the smartest and hardest workers can advance their position in society). Important sub-assumptions: 1) In Great Britain we believe people can be roughly said to fall in 'classes' 2) Nobles of the past were aware their position was a bit random, and they felt an obligation to the classes below them. AKA "noblesse oblige". The points the author tries to make are: 1) We lose "noblesse oblige" because the successful people are now taught that they're successful because they deserve it, and unsuccessful people are unsuccessful because of their faults. 2) The lower classes lose the ability to speak for themselves, because their natural leaders or people of talent are recognized in school, and bumped up a class instead of being forced into the positions and careers of their parents regardless of aptitude.