This Economist article about the plight of today's graduates paints a pretty bleak picture with no hopeful message to cling to. Several structural shifts are undermining the value of a degree: overexpansion of universities has diluted academic standards, leaving many graduates underprepared for critical thinking roles.
The author notes that some English majors struggle even with Dickens. Simultaneously, the rapid spread of technological literacy means non‑degree holders are increasingly capable of performing jobs once exclusive to graduates, leading employers to ease educational requirements. Plus, key graduate-employing sectors like finance, law, and public-sector services have experienced contraction since 2009, shrinking options for new hire. The long-term consequences sound dire:
Peter Turchin, a scientist at the University of Connecticut, argues that “elite overproduction” has been the proximate cause of all sorts of unrest over the centuries, with “counter-elites” leading the charge. Historians identify “the problem of an excess of educated men” as contributing to Europe’s revolutions of 1848, for instance. Luigi Mangione would be a member of the counter-elite. Mr Mangione, a University of Pennsylvania graduate, should be living a prosperous life. Instead, he is on trial for the alleged murder of the chief executive of a health insurer. More telling is the degree to which people sympathise with his alienation: Mr Mangione has received donations of well over $1m.s
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