What it would take to make credentialism equitable

As I keep saying, credentialism is a flawed and inequitable concept. Is an equitable (from a socioeconomic perspective) approach to credentialism possible? Technically speaking, I believe it is, but not in a manner that I can support.

Credentialism has opened up the possibility for wealthy families to essentially buy success for their family. Those who are already well off can afford to buy better credentials than low-income families. Schools tend to look bad if their students don't graduate. That's why they aim for attainable rather than average. This also means that accessibility to the programs is a bigger factor for acquiring credentials than the ability of the students. Of course, most factors for acquiring credentials disproportionately disadvantage those with fewer resources.

Even with the proposals we have made to subsidize college, those with money will have the advantage. These proposals strengthen the idea that opportunities are primarily determined by pieces of paper acquired rather than what each individual has to offer. Those who have money can afford more expensive credentials than those that low-income families can afford. They can afford more prestigious pieces of paper, and they can afford to acquire additional pieces of paper.

The only way to prevent rich families from buying credentials that low-income families can't afford is to eliminate all opportunities to invest in more expensive credentials. Even if you guaranteed full subsidies for all citizens, you would likely see expensive institutions emerge as an alternative for those with more money than the government can guarantee to its citizens.

What this ultimately means is that the government must prohibit options for rich families. They must maintain total control of the entire educational landscape. This also means that they must make decisions about who should and should not have the opportunity to succeed. They have to select citizens to fail and eliminate any alternative pathways to success.

Yes, credentialism can be equitable from a socioeconomic perspective. The problem is that this requires the government to force citizens of their choosing into failure. I do not want the government to have that kind of power. This is why I would much rather find a more equitable alternative to credentialism than to push to make credentialism more equitable.