Bad Faith

Episode 414 Promo - Death by PMC (w/ Catherine Liu)

Oct 14, 2024

Catherine Liu, an insightful author and critical thinker, discusses her groundbreaking case against the Professional Managerial Class (PMC), revealing it as a significant barrier to working-class progress. She tackles the pressing issues in education reform, emphasizing the need for democratization and accessibility. Liu also examines the precarious future of higher education amidst economic turmoil, questioning the true value of education as it faces rising costs and institutional cracks. It's a compelling conversation about class dynamics and societal change.

07:10

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Episode guests

Catherine Liu

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Episode notes

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Quick takeaways

Catherine Liu critiques the Professional Managerial Class for hindering the working class's progress through elitist identities and politics.

The shifting perception of education's value highlights a growing preference for practical skills over traditional credentials in achieving success.

Deep dives

Democratizing Education

The current structure of education is criticized for being exclusive and inaccessible, hoarded by those who can navigate its challenges. There's a pressing need to democratize education, breaking down institutional barriers that prevent widespread access. Discussions surrounding affirmative action highlight unexpected consequences, such as declining admission rates for certain groups, revealing complexities within the educational landscape. The rising costs of higher education threaten to create a crisis that could shift political dynamics, particularly with student loan obligations looming over voters.

Challenges and Crises in Education Reform

2min

The Fragile Future of Higher Education and Class Dynamics

5min

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Catherine Liu wrote the definitive case against the Professional Managerial Class -- a group of elite wage workers who tend to dominate media, politics, and other leadership positions due to their educational attainment and other class signifiers that set them apart from the rest of the working class. She has identified the PMC as a key obstacle to achieving substantive gains for the working class as a whole. But is that changing as economic precarity reaches more and more people, and as candidates like Kamala Harris reveal the emptiness of PMC identity politics?

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Produced by Armand Aviram.

Theme by Nick Thorburn (@nickfromislands).