A pattern i have noticed in the people i know: some people are special, others are common as muck. Esmerelda Weatherwax vs Granny Ogg. Everyone makes sure to protect the special ones, and heaven help the one who hurts them.
This happens. It feels right. I can provide a sound mathematical basis for doing so--it is a good strategy for a society to follow. I am nearly certain this quality can be measured accurately through some simple psychological tests. A genuine quantifiable genetic aristocracy of people who make good leaders and visionaries is possible.
...
er,
yeah, there's some obvious problems. The whole master race thing isn't all that popular these days. Yet i suspect if we could do this, we'd find some way to justify it. Put a slightly different spin on it and the L2's won't realize they've been had. It's the sort of thing that could just sort of happen without anyone explicitly deciding to do it.
Therefore we need to explicitly think about the implications now.