Do they though? In most parts of the world academics are not well paid relative to what they can get in the private sector. Even for most liberal arts subjects

Do they though? In most parts of the world academics are not well paid relative to what they can get in the private sector. Even for most liberal arts subjects you can get paid more to produce good entertainment or good books than you'd get in the academy. You can become a master programmer with no degree at all. Look at all the successful CEOs who dropped out.