People pointing out that an Ivy League degree doesn't necessarily affect lifetime earnings for the children of, say, a successful TV star misunderstand the real function of meritocracy, which is not the facilitation of upward mobility but the legitimation of a ruling class.
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In the old days, for someone "in trade" to marry a titled aristocrat was not a means to economic ascent but an attempt to claim legitimacy via the (fading) way in which legitimacy was traditionally granted.
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Now legitimacy attaches to (a particular form of) intelligence and (a particular kind of) resume, with Ivy admittances as the social register of Talent. So the rich parent who buys their child admittance is buying a form of legitimation whose worth isn't calculable in $.
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Replying to @DouthatNYT
You had me until that last "isn't calculable in $". High variance may make it hard to estimate, but for any one person at any one time there is in fact a $ amount they are willing to pay for this legitimation.
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Indeed, the fact that this scandal is about people paying cash definitely sets a floor on the value, and proves that cash and legitimacy are fungible.
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