3.
Let us go back to the theory of the
inverted-U curve that we discussed in
the chapter on class size. Inverted-U
curves are all about limits. They
illustrate the fact that “more” is not
always better; there comes a point, in
fact, when the extra resources that the
powerful think of as their greatest
advantage only serve to make things
worse. The inverted-U shape clearly
describes the effects of class size, and it
clearly applies as well to the connection
between parenting and wealth. But a few
years ago, a number of scholars began to
make a more ambitious argument, an