Let’s say, for the purposes of argument, that talent is acquired rather than innate. Doesn’t it still make sense to concentrate your educational resources on producing an extremely talented elite rather than spreading them out to create a lot of mediocre talent?
the 'gifted and talented program' i went through in middleamerica elementary school was a failed attempt at this. you need gifted teachers to teach gifted kids, and a critical mass of gifted kids. magnet schools solve this distribution problem by centralizing the gifted kids.