In the Shadow of the Han by Charles Holcombe:

Great family control over the selection process insured that membership in this exclusive group became more and more a hereditary prerogative.

Another questionable use of insured, as opposed to ensured.

New vocabulary:

libertine

One who acts without moral restraint; a dissolute person.

One who defies established religious precepts; a freethinker.

perquisite

A payment or profit received in addition to a regular wage or salary, especially a benefit expected as one's due.

A tip; a gratuity.

Something claimed as an exclusive right: "Politics was the perquisite of the upper class." (Richard B. Sewall.)

ontology

The branch of metaphysics that deals with the nature of being.

Chih Tun had waaaay too much free time. I, on the other hand, do not.