Book Review: ‘Excellent Sheep: The Miseducation of the American Elite’ by William Deresiewicz
“In 1971,” Mr. Deresiewicz writes quoting a study, “73 percent of incoming freshmen said that it is essential or very important to ‘develop a meaningful philosophy of life.’ ” That same year, 37% said being wealthy was important. But by 2011, the values of young adults had changed: Eighty percent said being rich is a very important priority, while only 47% were interested in life’s big questions. Even in a decade of economic turmoil, about half of the graduates at Penn who pursue full-time employment, for example, go into finance and consulting each year.
.. Rather than being taught the accumulated wisdom of the past through the great books, students now select from a bland a la carte menu of “distribution requirements” that leave them without a holistic understanding of the debates and issues that shaped the culture they now live in. “Nothing adds up,” he writes, “because nothing is designed to add up.”