It's a disturbing problem because it's a political problem, and there's no political will to fix it. In small-d democratic myth when the system becomes counterproductive the people empower a charismatic leader to do what needs to be done. FDR and Reagan are popular exemplars from opposite ends of the political spectrum. But at present the political system is filled with operators fully invested in the status quo and others who are too unfocused to really understand the problem, much less come up with a realistic solution. And thus we have the 2024 Presidential Election.
The separate but related problem of credentialism has reached ridiculous levels as well. To his credit, Pennsylvania Governor Josh Shapiro has tackled that one by drastically cutting the number of jobs that require a college degree. One sector of one state, but a step in the right direction. Maybe we'll see steps in the right direction on "lenocracy" as well, but it's an even tougher nut.
2 comments:
Greer's ability to describe complex topics in simple terms is admirable. I'm not particularly fond of people inventing new words when others would serve but his devising of the term lenocracy works well to define a situation the world at large hasn't encountered before. Of course actual pimps, unlike third parties, do provide the service of protecting their
workers.
I'm tending to see the US and the West in general as failed states that no longer have the resources to maintain control of their populations and neither do they have leaders who can inspire them. Reform may be possible but I don't see the country coming together to do the necessary work required - making America great again could possibly have worked after 2016 but the country has become even more divided since then.
You hit the nail on the head with your reference to credentialism. I read a very astute comment this morning on twitter: “Nothing in the history of Western civilization has gotten more expensive, more quickly than a 4-year degree. People are starting to realize that the diploma hanging on their wall is really a receipt.”
There are more than enough detailed descriptions of just how wasteful universities have become and how unprepared for life off-campus they leave young people. Thank goodness for Governor Shapiro and hurray for trade schools.
***
Climate: The Movie
I've come to look forward to new pieces by Greer. There are those who coin new words that don't really need to exist, but the situation of so many third parties who insist on being the most important person in a process that doesn't need them is novel enough to justify it. Pimps sometimes protect their workers and sometimes don't. Overall it's not a profession I would encourage anyone to enter, world's oldest or not.
I think the lesson they learned from 2016 is that the people are too unenlightened to support the right people and policies, so that they need to have whatever political power they have taken away and be distracted by bread and circumstances. Thus "democracy." They're wrong, of course, but the truth will take a while to sink in. The best efforts are coming from people far away from the corridors of power.
Education is a fine thing, but making higher education mandatory or trying to push it on the entire younger population is self-destructive. It's bound to drive up prices, while freeing the providers of the responsibility of actually making the investment of time and money worthwhile.
Trade schools are a good resource I'm sure. They've helped a lot of people find their niche in the past and I'm sure they can still do the same thing now.
Post a Comment