Man lives in communities. His social existence restricts his【36】in certain d

Man lives in communities. His social existence restricts his (36) flexibility in certain directions and extends it in others. Society (37) imposes on him some limitations. People do not all engage in the same activities. They can be (38) differentiated from each other by the functions they perform. This process of differentiation is called specialization. Specialization prevents many members of an industrial society from developing intelligence and (39) initiative. But some aspects of human society extend them beyond a point which can be (40) attained by animals or animal communities lacking the features which human society (41) uniquely possesses.
    Western type (42) democracies often claim that they provide "equality of opportunity" for all their citizens. At first sight it might seem that this implies the same chance for everyone of succeeding in his (43) preferred occupation provided he is conscious of his goal and is willing to work hard. What the phrase actually implies is something rather different—namely a competitive situation in which the number of competitors exceeds the number of rewards, (44) though all competitors have the same "chance" because they all start the race from the same base line. However, it is only in theory that they all start equal. Even if the state offers them free education and protects them from hunger or extreme poverty, (45) many citizens are disadvantaged in practice by their background, their upbringing, and probably other factors such as their sex or color. A process of invisible or hidden selection goes on which has very little to do with "equality of opportunity" in any sense. It is not the individual who selects his job; (46) it is the system of society with its specialized requirements which selects the individuals who fit its requirements.