This may be a controversial opinion around these parts (not with you, I surmise):
I think Philosophy needs to return to the bedrock of education. I am in favor of a true liberal arts education, as it does produce critical and independent thinkers, and that alone lends itself to a diverse range of professions.
But that is not feasible in the current paradigm. It has to be rigorous and there has to be failure.
The problem is not in the disciplines themselves. Sociology is not useless -- in a more sane world sociologists would have been at the forefront of the fatherlessness crisis, instead of egging it on. Human society is inherently complicated and does merit study and inquisition -- but it should be rigorous and empirical and unbiased.
I don't see how where get from where we are to where we need to be without completely starting over. I hope I'm wrong, but -- I think the rot is too deep.
I am 100% on the same page with you. I completely believe in the value of a traditional and true liberal arts education.
I know how I would start the burning down process. Three step process.
First. Leftists love wealth tax. Start tax university endowments based on their value. 1% of all endowments over 1 billion. 2% over 5 billion. 4% over 10 billion. etc
Second. these schools want to pay football coaches millions a year, make tens of millions from ESPN contracts, etc. Great, you are welcome to participate in that environment, but if you choose to do so, you are now a for-profit institution.
Third. Raise interest rates on government backed student loans. Make laws that forbid ever forgiving student loan debt.
Remove universities with low student loan payback rates from being eligible for student loans.
I truly don't think you even need to be punitive. Let these assholes hang themselves:
Though this is an obvious and drastic oversimplification:
Figure out some way to discharge student loan debt in bankruptcy. Fuck Joe Biden and this law in particular. In theory signing an affidavit that you are not and will not claim to be a graduate of that program seems to be a good starting point. Logically, people who need their degree will not declare bankruptcy. Doctors and lawyers and other "high debt but high earning" professions would never renounce their degrees, but your sociology, _____ studies, theater, etc majors will en masse.
When that happens, pull the universities in front of Congress and ask them to explain why. They can't, of course, and will embarrass themselves trying. Then the media (presumably less cucked at this point) can run all their smears "tuition up 2000%, ROI down 352%"
At some point the solution becomes clear: do not punish the borrowers, who made mistakes but there are clear reasons why so many young adults were actively pushed into making those mistakes... and do not punish the taxpayers, who never made the mistake in the first place. Punish the universities. Punish the people actually committing the fraud.
From this point we should be on our way to a better situation.
It seems simple, though: ask the universities to explain the increases in tuition while decreasing ROI and... they can't. There is no explanation.
Fuck em. Take their endowments. Maybe we won't make this mistake again.
This may be a controversial opinion around these parts (not with you, I surmise):
I think Philosophy needs to return to the bedrock of education. I am in favor of a true liberal arts education, as it does produce critical and independent thinkers, and that alone lends itself to a diverse range of professions.
But that is not feasible in the current paradigm. It has to be rigorous and there has to be failure.
The problem is not in the disciplines themselves. Sociology is not useless -- in a more sane world sociologists would have been at the forefront of the fatherlessness crisis, instead of egging it on. Human society is inherently complicated and does merit study and inquisition -- but it should be rigorous and empirical and unbiased.
I don't see how where get from where we are to where we need to be without completely starting over. I hope I'm wrong, but -- I think the rot is too deep.
I am 100% on the same page with you. I completely believe in the value of a traditional and true liberal arts education.
I know how I would start the burning down process. Three step process.
First. Leftists love wealth tax. Start tax university endowments based on their value. 1% of all endowments over 1 billion. 2% over 5 billion. 4% over 10 billion. etc
Second. these schools want to pay football coaches millions a year, make tens of millions from ESPN contracts, etc. Great, you are welcome to participate in that environment, but if you choose to do so, you are now a for-profit institution.
Third. Raise interest rates on government backed student loans. Make laws that forbid ever forgiving student loan debt.
Remove universities with low student loan payback rates from being eligible for student loans.
I truly don't think you even need to be punitive. Let these assholes hang themselves:
Though this is an obvious and drastic oversimplification:
Figure out some way to discharge student loan debt in bankruptcy. Fuck Joe Biden and this law in particular. In theory signing an affidavit that you are not and will not claim to be a graduate of that program seems to be a good starting point. Logically, people who need their degree will not declare bankruptcy. Doctors and lawyers and other "high debt but high earning" professions would never renounce their degrees, but your sociology, _____ studies, theater, etc majors will en masse.
When that happens, pull the universities in front of Congress and ask them to explain why. They can't, of course, and will embarrass themselves trying. Then the media (presumably less cucked at this point) can run all their smears "tuition up 2000%, ROI down 352%"
At some point the solution becomes clear: do not punish the borrowers, who made mistakes but there are clear reasons why so many young adults were actively pushed into making those mistakes... and do not punish the taxpayers, who never made the mistake in the first place. Punish the universities. Punish the people actually committing the fraud.
From this point we should be on our way to a better situation.
It seems simple, though: ask the universities to explain the increases in tuition while decreasing ROI and... they can't. There is no explanation.
Fuck em. Take their endowments. Maybe we won't make this mistake again.