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Why does everyone want to try to belittle the children of rich and well-connected parents as being undeserving of their status? No man is an island. And specifically, children are a continuation of the lives of those who came before them. They carry the genes and often the wisdom of their ancestors. In a deeper, Darwinian sense, no one 'deserves' anything beyond or below what they have, and these 'lucky' people are just members of a different chain of life.

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Advising young graduates to retain humility seems a far stretch from belittling.

I don't see any belittling. Just a plea to recognize the complete reasons why one is where they are. It's not all self-initiated hard work, or shrewd planning. It's some parts of those, and also an excellent starting position.

The starting position makes more of a difference than a lot of people want to admit to themselves. To those on top, it feels like an attack if this is pointed out. But it's not. And thinking that your station in life is completely a result of your own actions leads to poor treatment of those who don't have what you do.

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