In countries where traditional wealthy elites have long wielded power, an alternative elite drawn from the middle classes and educated under republican values is politically invaluable. It is no coincidence that many of Chile’s democratic reformers of the last two centuries were once students at the Instituto Nacional.
最后一句话的重点其实是“政治”。事实上，维持精英公立学校及其择优录取政策最有力的证据来自政治领域。在传统富人精英早已掌握权力的国家，从中产阶级吸收秉承共和党价值观的传统富裕阶层以外的精英具有宝贵的政治价值。过去两百年智利民主改革者有不少都毕业于国家学院并不稀奇。