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It's something of a Veblen good for the wealthy[1]. They can say to their friends that little Johnny is studying 19th century basket-weaving at Harvard. Little
by imgabe 10y ago
It's something of a Veblen good for the wealthy[1]. They can say to their friends that little Johnny is studying 19th century basket-weaving at Harvard. Little Johnny can then go on to get a PhD and advise his parents and their friends on the most culturally significant baskets to purchase to properly signal that they have the requisite taste to accompany their money.
[1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Veblen_good https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Veblen_good
- pm90 10y agoIt seems to me then that college, and liberal arts in particular, were meant to be pursued by the wealthy upper class, who wouldn't mind dropping that kind of money on a degree whose (monetary) ROI is so bad. It actually makes sense when you think of who the first college students were: its only very recently that we've embraced the idea of college education for everyone.