Raising the social status of scientists is one of the most important things the U.S. can do to shake off our 30 year slump... I think part of the problem is ho

Raising the social status of scientists is one of the most important things the U.S. can do to shake off our 30 year slump... I think part of the problem is how we've deified the MBA/"executive" as a fundamentally higher class of being. I am not knocking what such people do. Surely it can be very difficult, demanding, time consuming, etc. But it is not the only job that is such, and it is not the only job that is of such high value. I would argue that many surgeons, doctors, engineers, etc. create far more value than many businessmen. (In many cases they make more too! It's a myth that "suits" make all the money. The distribution of incomes in business is highly asymptotic. Top executives make ungodly money, but the average "suit" does not.) What the hell am I talking about? Case in point: It used to be called "first class." A few airlines still call it this, but I usually see it called "business class." First class carries the connotation of prestige. Business class carries the connotation that business is prestige and everyone else sits in the back of the plane. In working with MBA types, there has been a palpable sense that I am of lower status because I am a doer-- because I am doing the "details" (like making things work) and this is for "little people." We have elevated athletes, politicians, and alpha front-men (and they are usually male) to the absolute pinnacle of status in our society. Meanwhile we have actually demoted everyone else.