[WS:] But this is true of most institutions, no? I do not think that academia is much worse. The status game may be more visible in academia because you have a bunch of smart people watching, but that is a different story.
BTW, my disillusionment about academia notwithstanding, I think it still offers decent jobs comparing to the drudgery in the private sector or even government. At least in government you can fool yourself that it is for some common good, but in the private sector it is just to make some schmuck rich. This adds insult to injury. So I'd rather work for academia than government (done both), but I would be really hard pressed to work for some private company.
-- Wojtek
"An anarchist is a neoliberal without money."