My parents were relatively willing to let me do what I want, but even they had views on what I should do that were important. Furthermore, the community had very strong views on the type of job a kid from my home town should be doing – when I was around people were not very keen on the idea of going to university!

In this way, I think that often “strong communities” provide benefits, but also may restrict a child from picking the profession they desire. The come back there may be that, at the ages of 16-20 who knows what they want to do!

I will have a Piketty review up in a couple of weeks. Have been held up with the flu, it is hard to write with the flu. I definitely have a lot of comments on the book, to be sure.

As you say, testable these days but very true in my youth. But my headmaster resisted my father when I handed in my leaving form on the day I turned 15 because Dad had a farmhand job all organised for me – as he had for my older brother before me and my younger brother 15 or so mths later, Dad didn’t say much about the call from the headmaster, except to say carry on going to school. Since the accounting course the school steered me into turned out to be soo boring I ended up in manufacturing, I reckon I could have been a rich farmer, out in the open air, instead! Parents aren’t always wrong, I guess 😉

Anyway, just a heads up on your Piketty reading:

http://www.nybooks.com/articles/archives/2014/may/08/thomas-piketty-new-gilded-age/

I’m interested in your view.