It bothers me that this article from the economist fails to recognize the deleterious impact that lack of antitrust enforcement has had on life outcomes and thu

It bothers me that this article from the economist fails to recognize the deleterious impact that lack of antitrust enforcement has had on life outcomes and thus on the educational arms race. The article mentions that competitive goods like housing and social status drive the push for education. Before the last 50 years of industrial consolidation there were more opportunities to succeed in more cities, creating a greater range of available competitor goods in those places. Now everyone has to be competing globally for status and to a great extent for housing (as people consolidate into a few cities) and career opportunities (as fewer companies mean fewer paths to high achievement). It’s a nice idea to discourage unpleasant competition among Hugh school students. But fixing other parts of the economy could help address demand for this activity, and improve aggregate outcomes in many other ways.