Beazlebub- I am sure you are a really experienced guy yourself and I respect your opinion. However I do disagree, even though I have only the Britannia 1999 Girona incident to demonstrate the point.
I m sure you have noticed that as you have got older and more experienced you have become a safer Pilot. It therefore stands to reason that companies selecting more experienced Pilots will achieve an overall higher standard of safety.
You talk about the cadet system going now for fifty years. This is true but I remember 25 years ago that he initial instrument rating failure rate was 90%, and that was after selection. Now the pass rate is about 90% and the only selection is does Mummy have the money.