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February 3, 2012
"Every day we see people championing the pathetic in journalistic essays:"
a scared mother of four on food stamps, or her selfless Community Activist advocate.No one champions the simple strivers, those who take care of themselves and in the process alleviate society of one more charity case, and along the way create wealth via 'gains from trade' implicit in market transactions. A simple prosperous mensch who does not hypocritically claim he primarily works for others is off the radar, implicitly insulting to any intellectual making considerably less than him. The kind of change Murray is talking about will not happen until productive, successful people again feel pride in their distinguishing learned characteristics, including the willingness to shame people who do not have them. -- Falkenblog: Charles Murray Reiterates Willpower
Posted by gerardvanderleun at February 3, 2012 8:03 AM. This is an entry on the sideblog of American Digest: Check it out.
Your Say
I agree with the goal of paving the way for more stutends from lower socioeconomic backgrounds to go to college, but on principle have to argue with some of the conclusions in point 2, since I believe there are logical fallacies in the argument. Given the brand name recognition that comes from a Harvard or Yale degree and the tendency of people at the top of the ladder to clone themselves, it is not all that surprising that highly paid leaders in the corporate and government worlds tend to come from a small collection of institutions, but that doesn't invalidate Leef's point. The money spent per student is a stronger argument, *if* it is going into direct support of classroom education (and if the argument isn't being made that a higher paid faculty member is likely to be a better classroom teacher; there is much counterevidence). Also, to see what stutends from lower socioeconomic backgrounds face financially in going to prestige schools, do the math: It's interesting to compare a student outlay of 20% on a $92,000 investment versus 78% on a $12,000 investment to see an affordability problem that still is there.It can certainly be argued that you will do better with a degree from one of those 12 institutions because many folks believe you will do better with such a degree; sure. And Leef may be overstating his case. However, the true educational value, as opposed to perceived value, added by a degree from the top 12 over those from middling schools is still worth exploring.
Posted by: Aya at July 13, 2012 8:23 AM