mediocracy: blog: More on remoulding degrees

21 November 2006

More on remoulding degrees

Further to my earlier post on Gabriel Rozenberg criticising students in The Times for complaining about having to pay for their degrees.

I suggested that turning the university system over to the market, with people having to borrow to finance their degrees, was not necessarily the best outcome, although perhaps unavoidable in a mediocracy. In a mediocracy it cannot be permitted that only a minority get subsidised to develop their intellectual skills. Therefore no one gets subsidised. (There is an intermediate stage in which a lot of people get subsidised, but it doesn't last long since it's not economically viable.) I posted a summary of my comments on the Times website.

Rozenberg replied as follows to readers' comments:

I'm struck by how many of those who disagreed with me think that the answer lies in going back to an elitist concept of higher education for the top 2-5% of the country. My view is that such a system would damage the chances of millions of young people who will need advanced skills to get ahead. ... By calling mass higher education a "mediocracy", Dr. Tassano, you're saying they shouldn't get a chance to succeed.

Actually I didn’t call mass higher education a mediocracy. I said we live in a mediocracy, implying that mediocre standards prevail.

How does criticising the British university system for becoming dumbed down equate with saying people “shouldn’t have a chance”? Rozenberg's comment seems to me to reveal much about the tone of contemporary conservatism. It’s little different from the standard left wing comeback to criticisms of intervention, that “you don’t care about the unfortunate”. If the changes Rozenberg advocates stop clever children who don’t want to get into debt from going to uni, then it’s people like him who are (effectively) denying them a chance.

The claim that “people will need advanced skills to get ahead”, and therefore need to go to college, is pure Blair-speak. Even if it’s true that totally new skills will be needed, where is the supporting argument that what is taught in degrees actually supplies these skills?

mediocratic meanings

Words or phrases in red should be interpreted with caution.

‘trash’
in a cultural context, was once thought of as:
output which emphasises the debased side of mass culture;

but nowadays may be regarded as:
the healthy expression of an egalitarian society.

‘right’ (adj.)
may mean:
honouring legal and moral obligations, or other ethical principles, such as not interfering with others against their will;

but may also mean:
supporting collective action against individuals, to comply with prevailing political ideals, breaking other principles – e.g. truthfulness – where necessary.

‘Conservative’
may refer to:
a politician who believes in free markets and minimal state intervention;

but may also refer to:
a politician who accepts the basic premises of socialism, without describing himself as left-wing.

‘individualism’
traditionally meant:
self-reliance and independence, including from the state.

However, it is now often used to describe:
behaviour that ignores the wishes of those affected by it, particularly one’s spouse or children, and which typically requires dependence on the state.

‘research’
may mean:
1. data gathered in the pursuit of truth, generating interesting or useful conclusions;

but may also mean:
2. output the primary purpose of which is to add weight to a publications list; or
3. output designed to reinforce the dominant viewpoint; or
4. output the stated conclusions of which are not supported by the data, but which aligns itself with the dominant viewpoint; or
5. output which looks like research in sense (1), in that it is technically dense, cites plenty of supporting references and appears in a journal, but which is otherwise vacuous and/or specious.

‘equality’
may mean:
the chance to compete on the same terms as others, without legal restrictions;

but may also mean:
proportional representation for each social group in each sphere of life.

articles

legal uncertainty and counter-terrorism
Proposed counter-extremism measures violate legal certainty.

legal certainty
Legal certainty is a defence against arbitrary state power. As a principle, it is at risk of erosion.

Merkel, Obama, Trump and liberal values The term ‘liberal’ has become meaningless through abuse, and should be abandoned.

‘free’ debate at ‘universities’ The No Offence incident at Oxford and its implications.

high-frequency nonsense Criticisms of high-frequency trading are misplaced. Competitive arbitrage is essential to markets.

lucidity and obfuscation Lucid dreaming as a topic, and potential key to understanding sleep, was pioneered by Dr Celia Green.

consciousness and the sausage factory The problem of consciousness. Why academia, as it stands, is unlikely to generate a solution.

consciousness and ... (part 2) Major intellectual progress requires special conditions. Recognition of this is on the decline.

egalitarianism caused the 2008 meltdown Was meltdown linked to inequality, as Bank of England argues, or to egalitarian housing policies?

Airstrip One, A.D.2014 Orwell-inspired satire on modern Britain, and the new and dangerous “closed material procedure”.

‘normal’ science Modern research teams seek cogs, not individuals. How mediocratic academics exploit the efforts of others.

tales from Bizarro-world money-printing – UK education policies – Fukushima – US surveillance – Celia Green & Oxford

French Polish The term “racism” is being broadened as a means of restricting free speech. How not to play Chopin.

weekend notes #12 Are Oxford students “rich thickos”? Should doctors be ranked? Was Margaret Thatcher exploited?

weekend notes #11 The theory of rising inequality oversimplifies, and avoids mentioning non-egalitarian explanations.

Diamond Bob and the biggest boson the expensive search for the Higgs boson – review of the London Olympics – retrophobia

the meaning of mediocracy Collectivism, masquerading as egalitarianism, is the dominant ideology – not individualism.

academia: style over substance Academia is adapting to the new hegemony. Technical complexity reigns, while content is often vacuous.

mediocracy: blog

21 November 2006

More on remoulding degrees

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mediocratic meanings

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