A theory that “elite overproduction” leads to political instability (2020)

Re:A theory that “elite overproduction” leads to political i... by zozbot234 on Tuesday July 06, 2021 @05:33PM (#27754584)

And reading between the lines, the issue is specifically that there are too many university graduates with degrees of "elite" image and prestige but very dubious usefulness otherwise, that essentially set them up to fail in modern society. An attitude of entitlement can be especially unattractive to many employers, and many universities do not exactly try to warn their students that they should avoid this.

[ Parent | on HN ]

Re:A theory that “elite overproduction” leads to political i... by ozim on Tuesday July 06, 2021 @05:37PM (#27754646)

I agree it reads that universities making up marketing BS are hurting people.

I think it is the same way of hurting people with YT influencers, where they BS how their lifes are great but never show real behind scenes.

[ Parent | on HN ]

Re:A theory that “elite overproduction” leads to political i... by Pokepokalypse on Tuesday July 06, 2021 @08:34PM (#27756073)

I agree with that assertion: that universities are making up marketing BS and hurting people.

As a gateway to a high-paying job, a University degree is (in many cases: NOT ALL), more of a signal that the candidate is white, upper-middle or higher class, likely to not have a criminal record, likely to not have problems with mental illness (never mind substance abuse), and that's mainly what they're looking for, and why that gateway became such a high-demand commodity that it commanded a price that is often as much as buying a house. (easy access to student loans also probably played a role).

I say this as a person who thinks that every American should have an opportunity to go to college and get appropriate training for the career of their choice (as long as they otherwise meet qualifications). I think it should be "free" (and I think that business should pay into a tax-pool to fund the training of their workforce).

But I think that universities should ABSOLUTELY be tied down in how much they can charge for degrees, based on the actual economic value of that degree. If they train 100,000 underwater basketweavers, who make on average $15000/yr, then they sure as hell should not charge $100,000 for that degree, and they shouldn't be allowed to.

This market is horribly broken, and I don't think that it is presently workable without some much stronger government intervention. Otherwise, no player in this game has any incentive to change what it's doing. Since the government has a stake in having a viable and productive national labor-force, it's literally a matter of national security that this resource receive appropriate investment.

The alternative is to continue our downward spiral.

Also, there's this: https://ncses.nsf.gov/indicators

[ Parent | on HN ]

Re:A theory that “elite overproduction” leads to political i... by native_samples on Wednesday July 07, 2021 @05:23AM (#27759104)

The best way to align supply with demand would be to eliminate the government intervention. It's government subsidies dished out in defiance of actual market demand that allows so people students to study underwater basket weaving simply because they find it interesting. If students had to rely on (normal) bank loans or corporate sponsorship that problem would dry up really fast.

[ Parent | on HN ]

Re:A theory that “elite overproduction” leads to political i... by nightski on Tuesday July 06, 2021 @10:59PM (#27756880)

It's government intervention that caused this situation in the first place.

[ Parent | on HN ]