your last part is a false dilemma, because there are methods that do not required a system of credentials and also do not require populism
Your first part is more challenging because what you find is the people with true expertise in their field are often far to busy and/or have no interest in validating other experts so the people doing the validation at best are on the lowest end of the spectrum of "experts" which naturally causes the spectrum to expand.
Further you will find in many many many fields the method of obtain a credential is has no connection to another expert vouching for you, it is matter of simply passing some kind of standardized test, and completing a required amount of training
For example one that has been in the recent news is Airline Pilots where you have to have a fix number of flight hours to be a commercial pilots, many pilots get those hours by fly pipe or other utility line check operations which is done a clear day, fixed altitude, fixed path and with limited deviation. So the value of those hours would be far less than the same person flying in varied conditions, in varied locations, etc.
Your first part is more challenging because what you find is the people with true expertise in their field are often far to busy and/or have no interest in validating other experts so the people doing the validation at best are on the lowest end of the spectrum of "experts" which naturally causes the spectrum to expand.
Further you will find in many many many fields the method of obtain a credential is has no connection to another expert vouching for you, it is matter of simply passing some kind of standardized test, and completing a required amount of training
For example one that has been in the recent news is Airline Pilots where you have to have a fix number of flight hours to be a commercial pilots, many pilots get those hours by fly pipe or other utility line check operations which is done a clear day, fixed altitude, fixed path and with limited deviation. So the value of those hours would be far less than the same person flying in varied conditions, in varied locations, etc.