Part 5/15:
Modern institutions like higher education have paradoxically cemented social stratification rather than alleviate it. College, initially designed as a platform for meritocracy, has become a tool for entrenched class division, favoring elites who can buy their way into power. As society becomes increasingly bureaucratic and depersonalized, genuine human relationships—marriage, family bonds, friendships—are decaying at an alarming rate. Birthrates plummet, social trust erodes, and the collective sense of purpose dissolves into atomized existence. The result is a society increasingly cut off from its roots, experiencing profound loneliness and meaninglessness.