> Academia is first and foremost a network and a means to gatekeeping Yes, exactly. The gatekeeping and networking are facilitated by it being absurdly expensi

> Academia is first and foremost a network and a means to gatekeeping Yes, exactly. The gatekeeping and networking are facilitated by it being absurdly expensive hobby. Nobody wants to network with some random nobody from the slums. They want to connect with people who come from wealth. The bloat works to keep the risk high, pushing away those who aren't in the right class.