Looking for the helpful Cambridge admissions tutor who posted a while age..

[seeker]

......if you're around, could I ask a couple of questions, please?

Buying advantage for your own DC is the best way to give to society as a whole

I really don't understand the logic in this. Buying advantage just ensures that the class divide remains in place, and birth continues to be rewarded not merit.

It doesn't develop society at all, it stifles the talent of those without and rewards mediocrity from those with privilege.

No it doesn't, creamteas. Stop looking at it on a micro level and try to understand the macro level.

I am, the individualized self interest (micro) compounds into a system replicating privilege not merit (macro)

If people have learned things and developed, that is good for them and for society. Whether their parents coughed up or not is immaterial. Education is like vaccination - the more there is of it, the better for all of us.

Hmm yes though I am a supporter of free vaccination at the point of delivery, of decreasing inequalities in vaccination uptake, of increasing access to vaccines for hard to reach groups, and maximising vaccination uptake of the population as a whole, so as to increase herd immunity, and ultimately eradicate disease.

Bonsoir I'm all for increasing education, but I don't think that is what we were discussing.

As far as I could tell, you were arguing for preserving educational inequalities and I was arguing against.

Giving good eduction to a minority and does nothing to increase the level of education all round. So to use your example, vaccinating the elite against all diseases and the rest protected against only half the protection.

What you mean, I think, creamteas is that if some of the elite population paid for a five star vaccine programme and the rest of the population would be unvaccinated or incompletely vaccinated, diseases would still spread. The unprotected population would not survive. The protected population would also be at risk as they would be more likely to come into contact with disease before completing the vaccination course.

In general it is good for a country to raise levels of education for all.

The downside is that at the top, requirements can become horrendous. For example this year the entry point for Delhi university is above 99% for some subjects.