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Once upon a time, in a land far, far away there was beautiful and noble kingdom ruled by wise old king, kingdom where if you wanted to be anything then dirt grubbing peasant, if you wanted any qualified job, office or position you had to be a noble. No commoner filth allowed.
You are not born a noble? Fortunately, the king is good and kind, and will grant title of nobility to you if he likes you and thinks you could make a proper noble.
Ofc it is not for free, you do not get your patent of nobility without paying a fee.
You are broke loser? No worry, king's friends from Shark, Mosquito & Leech Banking House will lend you the necessary sum, at reasonable interest rate. Do not even think about welshing on the debt.
The system works well for everyone, as it should in fairy tale land, but there are some people who are still unhappy.
Some think that King when issuing the noble titles favors some provinces in his kingdom, and should distribute the patents of nobility more equitably.
Some think that the fee paid for patent is too high, and should be more affordable.
Some think that nobles who cannot repay their debt because there do not have any well paid office or position, should have their debts reduced or forgiven.
Some think that the King does not grant enough patents of nobility, and rejects many qualified applicants who can pay.
Some think that the King grants too many patents of nobility, and devalues nobility by admitting unworthy applicants.
Some think that the King grants patents of nobility just according to his whim and whims of his officials, and the process should be made more transparent.
Some think that corruption might be involved in the whole process of handing patents of nobility, and the King should crack hard on his officials demanding additional pay and favors for themselves.
But no one questions the principle of monarchy and nobility, and rightly so, because fairy tale kingdom without kings and nobles is not a fairy tale kingdom!
And some (like me) think that the King has poor taste, admitting mediocrities genuinely unsuited to the responsibilities of nobility who will therefore bend their mediocre talents toward scapegoating society for their mediocrity and attempting to undermine and erode it out of spite.
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Choosing who you let join you at the top is, as the King knows, the greatest privilege of wealth and power. Anyone with these things relishes the opportunity to elevate individuals of their choice to ensure both loyalty and the correct balance of traits one seeks in one's companions.
As long as hierarchy of money and status exist, those at the top will enjoy devising or letting fall into place these complex systems of patronage.
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I'm having a hard time telling if you're arguing against credentialism (which I mostly agree with) or against the concept of social status (the elimination of which is a pipe dream).
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