I don't think it's an orthogonal issue. I think there's genuine snobbism in academia, and the PhD system is one great part of it. The paywall is symptomatic of the fact that academics value guild credentials (PhD's, tenure, publications in prestigious journals) over equitable, open discussions.

Furthermore, people are ludicrously impressed by 'PhD's' from 'top schools' with 'impressive publication records.' Even a former academic with no institutional affiliation falls off the radar screen, and so those who want to be taken seriously in science are goaded into a costly, inefficient, and decades long rat race, just so that people will take them seriously.