The American Caste System: The Illusion of Higher Education

We used to be. When I say we, I mean academics. We used to be the upward mobility of the middle class in America. We’ve now become the caste system as we become drunk on exclusivity, failing to realize we’re public servants, not luxury brands, and have failed to increase the number of seats across universities across America such that we can say that 90% of our applicants didn’t get in, which in my mind, is tantamount to a homeless shelter bragging that we turned away 90% of the people last year. We have literally lost the script in higher education, and as a result, we have a caste system, full stop. People talk about India and Europe having a caste system. America has a caste system. Is called the degree you get. It sets your economic trajectory for your 20s and your 20s largely set the economic trajectory for the rest of your life.