I think the underlying issue that no one wants to admit is that probably “too many” people go to university That’s not something the author, Caplan, is afraid

I think the underlying issue that no one wants to admit is that probably “too many” people go to university That’s not something the author, Caplan, is afraid to admit. He wrote a whole book arguing that [1]. He also happens to be a libertarian and staunch capitalist economist. His argument (in his book) is that most university degrees (apart from engineering and other hard-core technical programs) are worthless. That everyone knows it but that it’s taboo to admit it. That what people are actually getting a degree for is to signal a level of basic intelligence and diligence/conscientiousness to prospective employers. He calls this the signalling hypothesis. He contrasts this with the human capital hypothesis: a belief that people actually go to university to learn and improve themselves. It’s a fascinating argument he presents! [1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Case_Against_Education https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Case_Against_Education