This isn't really a requirement to understanding my argument however, I suggest reading Oryx and Crake by Margaret Atwood - or if you have already - try to recall it with some more clarity.
It's a dystopian science fiction novel, though the author sees it more as speculative fiction. Her vision of the future is one of increased social stratification with capitalism and science at its heart. It's somewhat over-dramatic and blunt as a sledgehammer in getting its point across. However, her view of academics as becoming soulless, hyper-specialized, extremely competitive, and devoid of liberal arts and humanities beyond training the next generation of advertisers, is becoming disconcertingly closer to the truth.
The main character for instance, goes to a liberal arts college to learn corporate double-speak to use in advertising and legal copy. He has fun inventing meaningless multisyllabic words that sound like they exists to confuse people.