Defunding the Humanities

Australia is leading the way. We all know that if a college student wants to improve his or her work prospect, he does best to major in STEM subjects. If he wants to write himself out of the highest paying jobs, he should major in the arts, the humanities and perhaps even social science.

So, Australia has decided that it will cease subsidizing those students who want to study the arts and the humanities. In short, if you choose one of those majors in Australia, you are on your own. You will be paying for it yourself. If you major in a STEM subject, the government will be helping you out. Thus, you will be paying less than you had before.

From ABC News, Australia:

If you want to study arts and humanities, you will simply have to pay for it yourself.

Experts say this is essentially the effect of the Federal Government's proposed overhaul of tertiary education.

The plan more than doubles the cost of studying most humanities subjects at university, but slashes the cost to students of what the Government deems to be "job-relevant" courses.

It means someone studying humanities or communications will be in the same fee bracket as law students.

An art student's contribution to the cost of their degree is now higher than someone doing medicine.

For someone doing humanities, the cost of their contribution to their degree is now almost exactly equal to the cost of teaching the degree.

Amusingly, the Australian government places humanities education in the same category as another useless course of study: law school. Strange that they would be contesting the value of a legal education. 

Or perhaps, not so strange. After all, America produces far too few computer engineers and far too many lawyers. Do you really believe that we will be able to compete against the rising economic powers in Asia by sending our lawyers out to do economic battle against their legions of STEM majors.

It feels like just what the doctor ordered. Ask yourself how many of the protesters and demonstrators and rioters running wild on America’s streets majored in the arts and the humanities. And how many of them majored in STEM subjects.

One suspects, without having any evidence, that most of those who are looting and pillaging and destroying statues are doing what they know how to do. And perhaps it’s all they know how to do. How many of them are trained computer scientists? How many of them never made it to college?

So, maybe Australia has the right idea.