>Most of the kids in the elite education system are alright, they didn’t build this world and generally believe in an equitable one.
When I went to (not an Ivy, but a well known) college I ended up in a very nice fraternity with ridiculous numbers of guys that had trust funds (I think the highest number I knew of was 30M - although that guy was a chill stoner than didn't want much from life). A few had families with private jets. One owned a chandelier in their house that was worth 2x the house I grew up in.
I absolutely believe that these people would say they believe in an equitable society. I also know 90% of them are pretty solid people, a few assholes but I know lots of middle class and poor people that are assholes, too.
The issue is, they do not understand what life is like for middle class people, much less lower-class people. They do not understand the degree that making a society equitable would take and much of those ideas when discussed, even among friends, were vehemently scoffed at.
The problem is, lots of these people get to go on to become the decision makers of our society. And while completely fine people, they do not understand the realities of 80% of the country. I'd much rather Harvard and Yale and USC take the Cal-tech route and fill their halls with much more deserving kids (who are moreso likely to come from middle and lower class families than what's happening in present day).
It's ultimately the question, are you a bad person if you make a decision without understanding or knowing all the implications? I think the answer is no. But these people do not understand all the implications because they don't understand how most people in our society live. We should do our best to make our decision makers people that truly understand how most of us live - as unrealistic as that idea seems.
A private institution can successfully build a top flight school by selling off admissions slots.
Even in (especially in) the eyes of these people crying "unfair", these schools have apparently done a very good job of building a successful schools. They've sold off spots and built schools everyone wants to be in.
They want to go to a school with the prestige of money and connections, but those things came with a cost.
Do we want to respect the property rights of others?
Do we want to allow people to use the results of their labors to improve the lives of their kids?
There are tons of schools where you don't buy your way in. Why does everyone want into Harvard? Because people have thrown a ton of money at it to make it great. They didn't follow the process of only admitting the best and brightest. They followed a mix of that and people that would deliver money and connections. These are the results and if someone doesn't like it they have literally thousands of other options to choose from.
I know it's trendy to hate on the rich, but they've built something and are taking a small slice out of it while subsidizing a great many. Kick them out and they'll build another place that people will be screaming to get into next week.
When I went to (not an Ivy, but a well known) college I ended up in a very nice fraternity with ridiculous numbers of guys that had trust funds (I think the highest number I knew of was 30M - although that guy was a chill stoner than didn't want much from life). A few had families with private jets. One owned a chandelier in their house that was worth 2x the house I grew up in.
I absolutely believe that these people would say they believe in an equitable society. I also know 90% of them are pretty solid people, a few assholes but I know lots of middle class and poor people that are assholes, too.
The issue is, they do not understand what life is like for middle class people, much less lower-class people. They do not understand the degree that making a society equitable would take and much of those ideas when discussed, even among friends, were vehemently scoffed at.
The problem is, lots of these people get to go on to become the decision makers of our society. And while completely fine people, they do not understand the realities of 80% of the country. I'd much rather Harvard and Yale and USC take the Cal-tech route and fill their halls with much more deserving kids (who are moreso likely to come from middle and lower class families than what's happening in present day).
It's ultimately the question, are you a bad person if you make a decision without understanding or knowing all the implications? I think the answer is no. But these people do not understand all the implications because they don't understand how most people in our society live. We should do our best to make our decision makers people that truly understand how most of us live - as unrealistic as that idea seems.