>
> On Dec 4, 2011, at 1:50 PM, James Heartfield wrote:
> >
> > > Overall, though, I think the point is right. Before the
> > > introduction of fees, the British University system was on the
> > > whole a subsidy to a narrowly-drawn group of privileged middle
> > > classes.
>
> So better now to make it really expensive?
Ah, the old either-or. I think of it as the Mother-In-Law Argument, since I once had a mother-in-law who specialized in it.
Me: Our civilization has its flaws.
Mother-in-law: Oh, so I suppose you'd prefer chattel slavery and human sacrifice, Mr Wise Guy?
I thought the point JH was making was a rather different one, namely that the the previous Uni system was anything but socially transformative; quite the contrary in fact. Which raises the question, just how worthwhile is it to defend such an institution?
A broader question is whether the Left should spend any time, in general, trying to 'defend' things.
-- --
Michael J. Smith mjs at smithbowen.net
http://stopmebeforeivoteagain.org http://www.cars-suck.org http://fakesprogress.blogspot.com
Any proposition that seems self-evident is almost certainly false.