Market thinking and schemes have been used in educational purposes for decades and I see the effect being detrimental to our workforce and the economic power of the United States. From the elementary school level all the way to the university level the American schooling system is based on ideas of competition and thought the fiercest or in this case the brightest will always be the successors in this system. Yet this change in the system leaves a daunting question on society today. Is the value of a capitalistic education system worth the cost of not having an education system where everybody is working together? As I went through high school I noticed that people’s attitude about what they were learning were unhealthy in creating a truly
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The problem arises from the early era of market triumphalism in the 1960’s and from thinkers like Milton Freidman. Freidman argued that all universities should be kept private and that people who truly want the better education will get it. As Sandel describes in his book this is incorrect because there is a molding of ability to pay with willingness to pay. This prompted politicians in the 1970’s and 1980’s to begin to cut spending on schools while at the same time allowing student loan debt to pile up on the backs of students. Similar to housing loans these loans were looked at as good debt and debt that would likely be paid back as you were benefiting your own future by going to college. As the cost of college began not to matter for many prospective students colleges began to get an arms race for who can have the best campuses by building amazing football stadiums and recreational centers for students typically with money they did not have. This reckless spending spread like a disease as colleges that would build these amazing campuses were taking students away from colleges that weren’t forcing them to do the same thing. This rose the price of tuition at college since 1978 up by 1120%. For a California Resident to go to UC Berkley it was free, but due to deregulation and the commoditizing of campuses tuition nowadays costs 12,872 plus with room and board an additional 14,414. This is a huge change and with many colleges following the same path our student debt in this country has rose over a trillion dollars. Sandel also raises a good point in the rising war between colleges for the best campus have caused many universities to give a preference to wealthy students in hope that their parents will leave a large donation to the school. By schools valuing the money rather than the intellectual ability of students it accepts it
The problem arises from the early era of market triumphalism in the 1960’s and from thinkers like Milton Freidman. Freidman argued that all universities should be kept private and that people who truly want the better education will get it. As Sandel describes in his book this is incorrect because there is a molding of ability to pay with willingness to pay. This prompted politicians in the 1970’s and 1980’s to begin to cut spending on schools while at the same time allowing student loan debt to pile up on the backs of students. Similar to housing loans these loans were looked at as good debt and debt that would likely be paid back as you were benefiting your own future by going to college. As the cost of college began not to matter for many prospective students colleges began to get an arms race for who can have the best campuses by building amazing football stadiums and recreational centers for students typically with money they did not have. This reckless spending spread like a disease as colleges that would build these amazing campuses were taking students away from colleges that weren’t forcing them to do the same thing. This rose the price of tuition at college since 1978 up by 1120%. For a California Resident to go to UC Berkley it was free, but due to deregulation and the commoditizing of campuses tuition nowadays costs 12,872 plus with room and board an additional 14,414. This is a huge change and with many colleges following the same path our student debt in this country has rose over a trillion dollars. Sandel also raises a good point in the rising war between colleges for the best campus have caused many universities to give a preference to wealthy students in hope that their parents will leave a large donation to the school. By schools valuing the money rather than the intellectual ability of students it accepts it