But further. What difference does it make that the rate of college
>completion in the u.s. has fallen? How do you know that that is not in
>fact a positive rather than a negative? What are the various impacts of
>a high rate of college completion? Are they all positive (from the
>viewpoint of capital)?
The more people who fail to complete college, the more people who will blame themselves for their failure to find decent paying jobs.
In a putative democracy, however, if people recognize that it's because they cannot afford college, then this may cause resentments. e.g., my very talented and energetic social worker friend who can't advance into a median income position b/c she doesn't hold a degree and there is no foreseeable way to obtain one in her cricumstances. Still and all, the ideology of American individualism is so strong that the end result is that individuals will still blame themselves. It's hard not to and to turn around and see structural factors operating in your life. Everyone and everything wants you to engage in a narrative of self-blame and heroic individualism.
Bitch | Lab http://blog.pulpculture.org