Elder, Kandis: Credentialing

In modern day society education is stressed, the level of education one receives dictates much about future success. As a student I want to receive a bachelor’s degree so that I may have a better life and a better job. The article, “Death by Degrees” brings up concerns regarding this mindset that I, as well as most of Americans, have. It begins by telling of emperor Yang Guang and how he created the first meritocracy and introduced the idea of credentials.

To become a bureaucrat in China one had to take a series of tests. One of two things could happen. If the process of gaining credentials was easy there would be an abundance of degree holders, but not enough positions, creating a new underclass of “accredited” men working jobs they would have had before gaining credentials. If the process was too hard only those who were able to afford years of tutoring would be able to gain “credentials.”  Thus, only a small percentage of the wealthy would be able to gain bureaucratic jobs, creating an elitist bureaucracy. Modern American is in a very similar situation.

The majority of Supreme Court justices do not consider people for jobs who have not gone to an Ivy-League school, every justice currently serving on the Supreme Court went to Yale or Harvard. The highest court is entirely run by a group of professional elite. “Death by Degrees” suggests that populists should direct hostility towards these elitists. It states, “Dignity must be restored to labor, and…labor unions…dignity must be drained from the credential…” As a member of the middle class I agree that others, such as myself, should be given the opportunity to work in bureaucracy. We too should be able to gain credentials.

But one must consider the situation stated where there was an overabundance of accredited people. To quote “Death by Degrees,” “as the bachelor’s degree becomes democratized, the master’s degree becomes mandatory for advancement. Our…system of higher education is…a system of stratification.” If more people gain a bachelor’s degree, more jobs will require master’s, and accreditation becomes an arms race. My generation is going out into a world where we’ve spent our time, and thousands of dollars, to become accredited: but there are no jobs available. Che Guevara said, “the duty of intellectuals (is) to commit suicide as a class,”, and that is a very depressing aspect for my generation.