Snobbery becomes a serious evil when it leads to false standards of value and to tolerance of social inequality. The man who is respected merely for being the son of his father loses one of the normal incentives to useful effort. He is likely to develop views of life which attach undue importance to the accident of birth and to think that by merely existing he does enough to command respect. He believes himself rather better than other men and therefore becomes rather worse.
Source: On snobbery (written in Dec. 30, 1931 and pub. in Mortals and Others, v.1, 1975.
More info.:http://russell-j.com/SNOB.HTM