MF is a college student from Liberty University. She is a student pursuing a masters in counseling and has a BS in psychology. She does not have a lot of experience in the realm of capitalism or political ideology, but is very familiar with education and how capitalism effects higher education today.
How do you define capitalism?
“I would define capitalism as a system that has to do with private companies and individuals who have complete control over everything. I think many benefit from this political system especially those who have money and have successful endeavors.”
What role do you see capitalism playing in your daily life?
“As a college student I see how capitalism plays a role in my life through the student dept I have to pay after college. Thinking about twenty or thirty years ago college was much more affordable, now the tuition rates and fees I have to pay just to gain an education is mind-blowing. These private institutions are sucking students dry of money, at least those who come from a non wealthy family, and we have to deal with piling student dept just to have education . If a person is going to survive and thrive in todays society you need an degree in higher education, though the pay off is its ridiculously expensive.”
Do you think your community has been affected by capitalism?
“Yes one hundred percent. Following off the previous question, most of my friends and classmates are going through the same issues I have when it comes to student debt. Depending on how much loans or scholarships one gets depends on how much they will pay after school. It is a messy system and we don’t like it. I do not understand why education has to have a money sign on it. If our country wants to help out its citizens, aka the future ones who will be leading and supporting the country, you need to not scare us away with crippling dept.”
Do you find capitalism effective?
“Yes I do, but only in certain areas. I think in other industries capitalism is effective like when it comes to real estate and private businesses but not education.”
MF clearly has strong ideas revolving around education and capitalism. What she states is true, education is crippling if you are not lucky when it comes to having money. Higher education has been defined by the amount of money one has and how much they are willing to spend to possibly have a successful enough career to pay off loans. MF’s analysis on capitalism is more specific but it is an important topic that needs to be addressed. Due to most universities and colleges being privately owned, the money one has to put in to go there is sky-high. Especially if you apply to say an Ivy School or one that has a name that pops on the resume, you will need to pay high dollar for it. Higher education is all about branding and pushes individuals to choose whether or not they are willing to be suffering with debt to possibly succeed in our economy.
