The Gift that Kept On Giving

Sean Ngo

It is easy to see the beginning of things and harder to see the end. I remember the moment of accepting an offer of admission vividly as if sensations were always so easily recalled; the truth, as we know, is quite the opposite. When I applied to university, there was a certain sense of predestination and inevitability involved. Even now, walking the paved paths of Queen’s University on a cold and windy autumn morning, there is no doubt or guilt in being here. And yet, it is precisely this lack of anxiety, which sets upon me a certain type of “despair.” I know now, that this feeling of inevitability was the best and worst illusion of my life thus far.

When I was young, eight or nine (perhaps before then), my parents had told me with unwavering earnest that one could truly “succeed in life” and “get ahead” if the person “worked hard in life” and/or “played to their strengths.” As with all children who are repeatedly told banal platitudes, one has no choice but to accept it as truth and carry on living. Indeed, it was around this time that my mother and father enrolled me in Kumon, for Math and English, foregoing any classes in Chinese. Their commitment to my education was unfaltering and dedicated; paying additional tuition (by taking extra shifts), in the hopes that I might be the first from our family to acquire a Canadian university degree. Undoubtedly for them, they pictured my graduation from Queen’s as a familial obligation and a fulfillment of a greater Canadian promise of meritocracy. 

Unlike European societies historically dominated by hereditary aristocracy, Canada and America began largely as a group of immigrant colonies of the United Kingdom. Deeply rooted in the conception of both countries was the notion that an individual was “free” to achieve their desires in the “New World” on a basis of merit. The casting off of one’s old country is symbolic of the notion that one was neither privileged or disadvantaged by the circumstances into which he or she is born. It seemed to be a time of unlimited possibility in a new foreign land. How could one not accept the American declaration that “all men were created equal?” Perhaps, it is revisionary to say now that Adam Smith had only just published his influential Wealth of Nations or that America was largely built through the free labour of African slavery. But the hopeful idea of it all, remained largely not a sentimental pretense but a means of redemption—or so they believed. The conquest of the earth is not such a pretty thing when you look into it too much.

Today, survey data overwhelmingly shows that Americans and Canadians alike believe that widespread opportunity continues to exist. For them, a higher education acts as the “great equalizer” that necessarily diminishes inequalities of circumstances and provides opportunities to get ahead. Such a claim, situates the institution of education as the functional and realized end of meritocracy. If one is truly intelligent or dedicated to school—they will inevitably receive the spoils of life with their degrees. In this sense, education acts as the “engine” for meritocracy by effectively demarcating and measuring “merit” in order for occupations to draw a clear list of credential eligibility. Rarely, if ever is education considered a “bad” investment because it hypothetically entails a job at the end of college or university experience. It seems a fair price then for most students to graduate with $24,000 in outstanding loans; consequently this has made student loans America’s single largest source of debt (close to $1 trillion). 

Of course, it is also reasonable that students are no longer able to file bankruptcy to escape education fees because they are a “necessary” and “natural part of growing up” and that one must “take responsibility for one’s actions” even if the debt follows you to the grave. There is no limit to the potential price of college and university tuition as long as access to occupations are controlled by the bachelor’s degree. As a result, we are now the most indebted generation in history. The irony of it all is that graduating seniors in 2010 had an unemployment rate of 9.1 percent and the prospects continue to look grim.  

Antonio Gramsci, a Marxist thinker of the 20^th century, argued that the ruling class has control over a society’s belief system through the means of ideological hegemony. While it is possible to maintain control with force and authority, hegemony operates on a cultural sphere by dictating the transmission of ideas in a way that creates a commonsensical or natural way to see the world. The majority of society comes to see particular institutions and values as inevitable and even desirable when it is fundamentally counterintuitive to our best interests. Education for Western society has become deeply engrained through this manner. While many would argue that there are individuals who work straight from highschool or enter vocational jobs—the freedom of choice between education and vocation is largely an illusory one. Within a free market of ideas, education and labor have been continually placed against one another, but not all ideas are presented equally or fairly. Indeed, media has consistently favoured management over labour and our own need for degrees is symptomatic of the way in which we have internalized the college/university success story. Quite the opposite, a college degree is no longer seen as a “privilege” (while it paradoxically remains one) but a prerequisite in a knowledgeable capitalist economy.

With the realization that a postsecondary education is a minimum requirement to receive a reasonable job, the continual enrollment creates an inflation of degrees which lowers the individual value of any particular one. Whereas it was once acceptable to have a high school degree to perform certain jobs, most of these are now filled by university graduates; while previous B.A. positions are now being held by those with an M.A.. Credentialism is a direct result of the economy failing to produce “college/university level” jobs in proportion to the new graduates. It is unsurprising then that between 1970 and 1999, graduate and professional school enrollments increased by 75 percent in America. Of course, most of the degrees do not actually translate perfectly to all jobs and many have questionable utility at best. Does one truly require an M.A. in order to apply? “Paper credentials” are precisely what they claim to be, a simple means to refer shorthand to the type of values that might be desired in an organization. If one finishes an M.A. they are considered more “hard working” than someone with a mere B.A. But the truth is, I have never felt more inadequate in comparison to my father who has shown me what “hard work” truly means. Is it not the solitary worker who does more than a CEO and his army?

Paradoxically, education functions by awarding individual achievement while also perpetuating existing inequalities. Indeed, if a degree signifies a shorthand for an individual, then the education as “great equalizer” is precisely the opposite—an engine of conservative preservation. The origins of a degree start to matter and education becomes another status symbol, which differentiates those who have from those who do not. It is apparent that as tuition fees continue to rise, postsecondary education for lower-income students generally decline because they are unable to continue learning even if they had the time to. The reciprocal relationship is apparent: inequality of income creates inequality of education and vice versa. 

According to Adam Smith, there will always be winners and losers in the race of life but everyone is allowed the equal opportunity to run. He nevertheless failed to mention the extra hurdles and laps that many might have to endure. I know now why my parents put so much emphasis on my education and it seems to me ambivalent at best. They were passing on the torch in hopes that my future might be a brighter one and that things would genuinely get better. Inheritance always comes before merit. But at least I am given the chance to run? 

Perhaps, in the end, I am the sole cause of my own failure and meritocracy really does keep those who do not belong out. Yet, it seems peculiar to me that the race is linear at all, if one can rise and fall based on merit that I have not passed anyone who has come before or seen more rich men fall. Here in the goldenland where everyday is born anew; the past is not believed to have any bearing upon time present or future. I wish I could tell my mother and father all that I have learned in these four years of higher education but I lack the sufficient Chinese to do so. I hope this will do.

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