> Why would you need any degree, though, if you were rich beyond measure?
>
Given the other elements of our social world, it confers at least a fig leaf of legitimacy to that wealth, no? ie., "This rich so-and-so isn't stupid; he went to <fill in name of prestigious university with a legacy admissions policy here>" And doesn't going to a U. that not only has legacy admissions but also institutions within the U. that caters to the speific needs of wealthy nitwits (Harvard's dinning clubs or whatever they're called, Yale's societies, etc...) provide formative experiences and contacts that engender and maintain class solidarity among the wealthy?
Maybe someone knows their Bourdieu can chime in here about symbolic capital.
-- Curtiss, Stony Brook '92