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> By and large, the reason our customers are on campus is to credibly show, or “signal,” their intelligence, work ethic, and sheer conformity. Ugh. This senten

> By and large, the reason our customers are on campus is to credibly show, or “signal,” their intelligence, work ethic, and sheer conformity. Ugh. This sentence stopped me dead in my tracks. The corporatization of education is killing any unique purpose it used to have. In particular, thinking of students as customers gives them a sense of entitlement that they should be able to "talk to the manager" if they don't get the outcome they want. It doesn't help that tuition has reached such heights that it's hard to argue that they're wrong.

alexvoda 3y ago
What do you expect from a self-proclaimed anarcho-capitalist economist who is reactionary enough to find a way in an article about AI to complain about how the left cares about common left talking points the right hates. An actually educated public is a major inconvenience even a danger for capitalism. Capitalism would rather reduce education to a workforce sorting algorithm.
bluescrn 3y ago
The mentality of ‘the customer is always right’ also leads to homogenous thinking, with universities of all places now leading efforts to discourage freedom of speech/thought and punish ‘wrongthinkers’. It’s what the ‘customers’ are demanding.
- extra88 3y ago
  > The mentality of ‘the customer is always right’ also leads to homogenous thinking How? The customers (students) are different so what they see as right is different. > universities of all places now leading efforts to discourage freedom of speech I don't see universities doing to themselves anything different now than they've done for decades. There has been a resurgence of state governments meddling.
MayeulC 3y ago
I also came here to quote that part. The author is completely biased, and his views reflect not what I call "higher education", nor my experience. A friend of mine was offered a well-paid teaching assistant position at a private school. Some students completely failed the tests he was grading, but when he gave out failing grades, he got a meeting with the principal, who told him about the importance of not disappointing/losing customers, and that these people were paying good money for their degrees. He didn't renew his contract there. Luckily, this still seems to be the exception around here, with almost-free public education.

alexvoda 3y ago

What do you expect from a self-proclaimed anarcho-capitalist economist who is reactionary enough to find a way in an article about AI to complain about how the left cares about common left talking points the right hates. An actually educated public is a major inconvenience even a danger for capitalism. Capitalism would rather reduce education to a workforce sorting algorithm.

bluescrn 3y ago

The mentality of ‘the customer is always right’ also leads to homogenous thinking, with universities of all places now leading efforts to discourage freedom of speech/thought and punish ‘wrongthinkers’. It’s what the ‘customers’ are demanding.

extra88 3y ago
> The mentality of ‘the customer is always right’ also leads to homogenous thinking How? The customers (students) are different so what they see as right is different. > universities of all places now leading efforts to discourage freedom of speech I don't see universities doing to themselves anything different now than they've done for decades. There has been a resurgence of state governments meddling.

MayeulC 3y ago

I also came here to quote that part. The author is completely biased, and his views reflect not what I call "higher education", nor my experience. A friend of mine was offered a well-paid teaching assistant position at a private school. Some students completely failed the tests he was grading, but when he gave out failing grades, he got a meeting with the principal, who told him about the importance of not disappointing/losing customers, and that these people were paying good money for their degrees. He didn't renew his contract there. Luckily, this still seems to be the exception around here, with almost-free public education.