The Fantasy Economy: Neoliberalism, Inequality, and the Education Reform Movement [Paperback]

Wage stagnation, growing inequality, and even poverty itself have resulted from decades of neoliberal decision making, not the education system, writes Neil Kraus in his urgent call to action,The Fantasy Economy. Kraus claims the idea that both the education system and labor force are chronically deficient was aggressively and incorrectly promoted starting in the Reagan era, when corporate interests and education reformers emphasized education as the exclusive mechanism providing the citizenry with economic opportunity. However, as this critical book reveals, that is a misleading articulation of the economy and education system rooted in the economic self-interests of corporations and the wealthy.

The Fantasy Economychallenges the basic assumptions of the education reform movement of the last few decades. Kraus insists that education cannot control the labor market and unreliable corporate narratives fuel this misinformation. Moreover, misguided public policies, such as accountability and school choice, along with an emphasis on workforce development and STEM over broad-based liberal arts education, have only produced greater inequality.

Ultimately,The Fantasy Economyargues that education should be understood as a social necessity, not an engine of the neoliberal agenda. Kraus’ book advocates for a change in conventional thinking about economic opportunity and the purpose of education in a democracy."Kraus gives us a thorough inventory of the legacies and architecture that the neoliberal order has left for higher education....The Fantasy Economyis a vital read for anyone interested in understanding how higher education policy became what it is today and why decades of managerial reform have done little to change it."—Academe"[A] deeply researched account of the stunning extent to which we’ve been deceived by privately-funded think tanks, billionaire philanthroplcM