4 ms·

Apparently we're close enough to post-scarcity that people forget jobs are supposed to do things and not status symbols. The point of meritocracy isn't that it

Apparently we're close enough to post-scarcity that people forget jobs are supposed to do things and not status symbols. The point of meritocracy isn't that it's more fair or ethical, the point is that we give the most important (on the margin) jobs to the people most capable of doing said job. The fact that money, status, and power flow to the people doing important jobs is an incidental side effect. Now universities aren't exactly jobs, but the point stands. Universities are supposed to educate people, so that those people can do stuff. Letting in people with connections and not ability means we are not making the best use of our limited educational resources. Note that this is an argument for affirmative action as advertised and an argument against affirmative action as practised.

pingyong 7y ago
Why do I always get the impression that getting into an elite university is harder than getting a degree there once you're already in?
- goatinaboat 7y ago
  It absolutely is. In fact in many situations “Harvard dropout” carries more social cachet than “Harvard graduate” (of course both can backfire).
Pyxl101 7y ago
> Universities are supposed to educate people The primary goal of most research universities is to conduct research. Educating people is not the goal, or is an auxiliary goal. Related: http://blogs.discovermagazine.com/cosmicvariance/2008/05/29/the-purpose-of-harvard-is-not-to-educate-people/ http://blogs.discovermagazine.com/cosmicvariance/2008/05/29/... > But there is one misimpression that people seem to have, that might as well be corrected before any hasty actions are taken: the purpose of Harvard is not to educate students. If anything, its primary purpose is to produce research and scholarly work. Nobody should be surprised that the gigantic endowment isn’t put to use in providing top-flight educational experiences for a much larger pool of students; it could be, for sure, but that’s not the goal. The endowment is there to help build new facilities, launch new research initiatives, and attract the best faculty. If it weren’t for the fact that it’s hard to get alumni donations when you don’t have any alumni, serious consideration would doubtless be given to cutting out students entirely. ... > This is not a value judgment, nor is it a particular complaint about Harvard. It’s true of any top-ranked private research university, including Caltech. ...

pingyong 7y ago

Why do I always get the impression that getting into an elite university is harder than getting a degree there once you're already in?

goatinaboat 7y ago
It absolutely is. In fact in many situations “Harvard dropout” carries more social cachet than “Harvard graduate” (of course both can backfire).

Pyxl101 7y ago

> Universities are supposed to educate people The primary goal of most research universities is to conduct research. Educating people is not the goal, or is an auxiliary goal. Related: http://blogs.discovermagazine.com/cosmicvariance/2008/05/29/the-purpose-of-harvard-is-not-to-educate-people/ http://blogs.discovermagazine.com/cosmicvariance/2008/05/29/... > But there is one misimpression that people seem to have, that might as well be corrected before any hasty actions are taken: the purpose of Harvard is not to educate students. If anything, its primary purpose is to produce research and scholarly work. Nobody should be surprised that the gigantic endowment isn’t put to use in providing top-flight educational experiences for a much larger pool of students; it could be, for sure, but that’s not the goal. The endowment is there to help build new facilities, launch new research initiatives, and attract the best faculty. If it weren’t for the fact that it’s hard to get alumni donations when you don’t have any alumni, serious consideration would doubtless be given to cutting out students entirely. ... > This is not a value judgment, nor is it a particular complaint about Harvard. It’s true of any top-ranked private research university, including Caltech. ...