Universities, inheritance and HP

[pippin_999]

No: HPFGUIDX 34112

People seem to find it almost incomprehensible that the HP 
world could not have an extensive university system. However, 
European universities were originally founded to teach religion, 
and only later branched into other fields, the first being law.
 The liberal arts were only studied  to give the necessary 
background, and weren't recognized as fields in their own right. 
The idea of teaching technical skills at the university level came 
even later. At the time when wizards split off from the Muggle 
world, very few people had university educations.

The fact that the wizards haven't much (any?) organized religion 
and their legal system is primitive argues against this kind of 
university development in the wizarding world.

The population explosion caused by improved sanitation 
together with the disappearance of unskilled jobs due to 
mechanization resulted in the vastly expanded universities we 
have now. If corresponding developments in the wizarding world 
did not take place, there would be no reason for them to develop 
a higher education system.

 I would guess that crafts, small trades, shops and the like stay 
in the same families for generations,  and that people are largely 
expected to go into the same fields that their parents did. This 
would greatly disadvantage the Muggleborn and account for their 
lower social status. 

Hmmm....perhaps it's important for us to know that the wizards 
have no universities because Hermione is going to found the 
first one!

I imagine that both Gringotts and the dragon reserve where 
Charley works have some ministry connection. The lack of such 
a connection might explain Molly's distress over Fred and 
George's plans to open a joke shop.  If  Weasley connections 
helped Bill and Charley land their jobs, it wouldn't  be considered 
nepotism, just business as usual. The idea that family 
connections shouldn't influence where you work would seem 
outlandish in much of the world today, and in England and 
America until recently)

 I wonder if the wizards, like the Amish, pass the family real 
estate to the youngest son and Ron will get the Burrow.

Pippin