> The more intelligent and clever always benefit, because they know how to use the system to their own purpose. This has been so since the beginning. The less i

> The more intelligent and clever always benefit, because they know how to use the system to their own purpose. This has been so since the beginning. The less intelligent either end up in a position where their labor can be exploited, or they're left to slow decline or even death, depending on how much society values keeping them alive. This is a very new situation. A few generations ago, the smartest or the dumbest still ended up in the same roles. Sure, some people were more productive or slightly more prosperous but that was probably more based on how much land your parents had. It's only in the last 100ish years where those differences started to matter and since WW2, they're starting to compound where the "cognitive elite" rarely interact with people outside their normal circles (defined by intelligence or socio-economics, which are often similarly grouped). For example, think of the 10-20 people you spend most of your time with... other than family, I'd wager they're all in the same/adjacent industries; probably use their mind, not their back in their daily work; and economically are very similar too.