A “Progressive” Analysis of Higher Education’s Problems. This journalist’s solution would make matters much worse.

James G. Martin Center for Academic Renewal ^ | July 7, 2023 | George Leef

[karpov]

There have been quite a few books written incorporating the “ivory tower” shorthand for American higher education. The latest is by Philadelphia Inquirer columnist Will Bunch—After the Ivory Tower Falls.

That interesting title caught my eye. I have been arguing for many years that higher education is an overinflated bubble that’s due to burst or at least deflate. What does this author have to say about the prospects for American higher education?

As I investigated further, I found that the book has been recommended by people with deep leftist sympathies, including Duke history professor Nancy MacLean and Democratic Congressman Ro Khanna. But you shouldn’t judge a book by its cover (or, in this instance, its back cover), so I acquired a copy and dove in. What would a writer with “progressive” priors say about the problems with higher education? Would Bunch provide any useful insights?

Sadly, the answer is “no.” Bunch understands that higher education performs badly for many Americans. He is distressed that so many students accumulate enormous college debts only to end up working in jobs that don’t pay well enough for them to repay what they owe. He laments that most students today seem to look at college as just a stepping stone to a lucrative career. He’s bothered by credential inflation that now requires college or even graduate degrees for work that people could learn to do with just some basic training. I’m bothered by the same things.

The problem is that Bunch gets the causality all wrong. In his leftist view, everything is the fault of evil Republican politicians, greedy Wall Streeters, and avaricious businessmen. Bunch’s contempt for people he sees as promoting heartless capitalism with dark money drips from the pages.