No, you were never going to beat the elite at their own game if you came from relatively humble origins. But the unwritten agreement was that if you probe your

No, you were never going to beat the elite at their own game if you came from relatively humble origins. But the unwritten agreement was that if you probe yourself useful enough, you would be accepted as a kind of junior member of the club. Then your children would be Ok to marry their children, and your grandchildren would be undistinguishible from the rest of the elite's offspring.