that's just the way capitalism goes

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I have spent a lot of time (not here admittedly) ranting about the sacrifice of quality and whatever "reality" there may be in the world to the endless consumer capitalist frenzy that seems to surround me.

In yesterday's New York Times, Stephen Budiansky wrote an editorial titled "Brand U." He describes how universities have changed the way they "market" themselves to potential students, including changing names and having the administrators, faculty, and staff refer to students as customers.

Education, the exchange of and search for knowledge, the experience of learning, these are all reasons that higher educational institutions (most of which are technicnally non-profits) have for existing. Profit should not be one of those reasons. And profit, based on enrollment, does not prove how good an educational institution is at providing these items. Students are not "customers." They are people of great value to an educator; not because of the money they bring but because of all the promise to be found in the pursuit of knowledge.

The day after I read this editorial in the New York Times, NPR had a story about ExxonMobil's posted record profit and the U.S. Senate's examination of oil profits. I understand that oil companies do need to turn a profit, but what I don't understand is how they can so comfortably do it as gas prices climb dramatically for almost everyone in the world. Wouldn't they be happy with a little bit less profit? Don't get me wrong; I think high gas prices might be good in terms of eventually weaning the U.S. off oil dependency. I just don't understand the appeal of unrestrained greed.

As someone who is both dependent on a car and somewhere deep down still in love with the idea of higher education, these news items added to some of the sorrow I so often feel these days when I think of the future of the world and the mastery that corporate capitalism wields over all our lives. But that's just the way capitalism goes.