Recent links of note:
“The World Might Be Better Off Without College for Everyone”
Bryan Caplan, The Atlantic
The litany of troubles associated with higher education is a matter frequently discussed in these pages. From overbearing political correctness that stifles the free interchange of ideas to the usually astronomical price tags associated with a college degree, institutions across the country are clearly in significant states of disrepair. Much of the trouble might be more systemic, however. As Bryan Caplan, a professor of economics at George Mason University, argues in a recent piece in The Atlantic, perhaps the American craze to get every kid a Bachelor’s is not well founded after all. Taking an economist’s stance on the matter of degree-worth, Caplan points out that giving a degree—once considered a marker of exceptional (and hirable) talent—to everyone has created dramatic credential inflation. When considered in the context of constantly underperforming yet financially thriving institutions, Caplan’s argument against our “go-to-college” culture feels particularly strong.
“What Political Leaders Read in 2017”
The Wall Street Journal
On Thursday, The Wall Street Journal asked six major political players—Tom Cotton, Amy Klobuchar, Claire McCaskill, Karl Rove, Tim Ryan, and John B. Taylor—to share with readers their favorite books from the concluding year. Choices are wide-ranging, from history to fiction, but something that caught our eye was Karl Rove’s mention of Vox Populi: The Perils & Promises of Populism at the very top of his entry. Rove says that the collection of essays that originally appeared in the thirty-fifth volume of The New Criterion “helps make sense of the forces that pushed Western democracies into turmoil and, possibly, toward constructive reform.”
From our pages:
“Hilary & friends”
Jay Nordlinger