> The diploma -- especially from an elite school like Columbia -- [is] first and foremost is a signifier that you deserve entrance into an upper middle managerial class
I think that while this take is largely accurate, it's incomplete. Substitute "upper middle managerial class" with "enlarged access to professional employment" -- not a huge leap -- and you can see societal benefit for aggressively modulating the gatekeeping for inclusivity's sake.
Otherwise it's just the usual cynicism which is always effective for maintaining the status quo.
I think that while this take is largely accurate, it's incomplete. Substitute "upper middle managerial class" with "enlarged access to professional employment" -- not a huge leap -- and you can see societal benefit for aggressively modulating the gatekeeping for inclusivity's sake.
Otherwise it's just the usual cynicism which is always effective for maintaining the status quo.