Credentials: the Simulacrum of Wisdom and Authority

There is a crisis of legitimacy today in our elites. Their authority is evaporating and they don't really understand why. They increasingly rely on credentials as a substitute.

We are obsessed with credentials. The very highest ranks of our society are almost all educated at a handful of so-called elite universities, the Ivies, or their near equivalents.  This mania is not limited to just the high achievers among us.  Every field of work now has certifications one must earn and display to show competence. 

This is a problem for…