Credentialism in a globalist economy

I don't think that anyone can deny that we have become more globalized over the years. We have also become an increasingly crendentialist society. In other words, we value paper more than we value the ability of an individual to contribute to society. When you combine credentialism with globalization, you end up with a misguided credentialist arms race.


Credentialism appears in numerous locations, but the most obvious could be the job market. Businesses have adapted to credentials and provide preferential treatment to those who possess paper in both hiring and pay. Multinational corporations are more likely to form in countries that have a highly credentialed population. Similarly, people who come from highly credentialed nations are more likely to find work away from home. This can give an apparent benefit to nation's that embrace credentialism.

In reality, credentialism has never been proven beneficial. Many highly capable individuals have lost the opportunity to contribute under this model. We have also seen a substantial decline in mental diversity. Just about every college graduate is the same, and anyone who deviates from the mold has neither a voice nor adequate representation. Overall, credentialism has been a global catastrophe.

A frequent oversight with credentialism is credential inflation. The more credentials are handed out, the less valuable those credentials become. If a country invests more heavily in credentials, there is a trade-off between the increased credentials and the reduced value of credentials. Since smaller countries provide smaller increases in credentials, they have a smaller global impact on credential inflation. Because of this smaller countries investing in credentials will typically see more of a benefit from credentials than drawbacks from their share of credential inflation. From a national perspective, credentialist policies can be positive. From a global perspective, these same policies are harmful.

When we embrace a credentialist arms race, we are causing global harm in order to skew competition in our favor. We see the benefits more than the harm. This is because the harm isn't confined to our nation, and the harm is spread out. If any one person obtains extra credentials, it's easy to see benefits from those credentials. The harm to an individual caused by credential inflation, educational discrimination, intolerance of mental independence, and more is so small that it's nearly impossible to see. Once you add up all the harm to the billions of people on this planet, that harm will outweigh the one person's benefits.