To use one economic jargon just once more: If this view is
correct, our higher-education system is a big prisoner’s
dilemma. Every individual person — the high-school senior and
the human-resources manager — has a rational incentive to pursue
a BA, but the system as a whole is massively wasteful. There
should be a way to prove high intelligence and cultivate
diligence and refine social graces that doesn’t cost tens (or
hundreds) of thousands of dollars and four to six years, and
saddle would-be entrepreneurs with debt (and, dare I add,
afflict young people with the grievances and resentments of the
academic Left). Students are not learning much despite enormous
amounts of money and time spent on campus, but a degree provides
them entrée to a middle class job. Employers find that job
applicants often lack fundamental work skills, but use a college
degree to screen for a basic level of competence. Both students
and employers are stuck, until a better way is found. What Does
Prisoner’s Dilemma Mean? A paradox in