Sublime

world). Opportunity can be hoarded, then, not only by abandoning public goods for private ones, but also by leveraging individual fortunes to acquire access to exclusive public goods, buying yourself into an upscale community. In many corners of America, a pricey mortgage doesn’t just buy a home; it also buys a good education, a well-run soccer lea

“So, Jonathan, I agree with my neighbors here. Times are changing, even here at West Heart. These days, apparently, we are broad of mind and generous of spirit. Always eager to try out new people.” Warren Burr glances down the table at his wife. “Isn’t that right, Susan?”

Maybe Ma was never coming home.

As his growing fortune gave him more leisure, it seemed that he took advantage of it to cultivate his mind. Since he had been at Montreuil-sur-mer, it was noted that from year to year his language became more polished, more carefully chosen, and gentler.

As my parents aged, I found myself torn between being their child and being their caregiver, as so many people do when their parents decline.

In fact, we are a nation of essentially similar people shaped by vastly different circumstances of place, wealth, education, and culture. Those best able to document our socioeconomic divide with humility and accuracy typically have occupied more than one class, remain connected to the one they left, and attribute any upward mobility to good fortun