NOT A GOOD THING:

Right-Sizing the College Market: Let students find an investment market for their talents. (Thomas Sowell, 4/23/08, National Review)

Some education is not only a good thing but a great thing. But, like most good things, there are limits to how much of it is good — and how good compared to other uses of the resources required.

In other words, education is not a Good Thing categorically in unlimited amounts, for people of all levels of ability, interest, and willingness to work.

Nor is there any obvious way to set an arbitrary limit. These are questions that no given individual can answer for a whole society.

The most we can do is confront individuals with the costs that their choices are imposing on others who want the same resources for other purposes, and are willing to pay for those resources.

We have universal public education because a republic requires that its citizens be reasonably well-informed in order for their votes to be worthwhile, but beyond that public subsidies do naught but drive the costs of education up and deprive us of skilled workers even though most men are ineducable.

Posted by Orrin Judd at April 23, 2008 9:05 AM