[naner]

That wasn't the thrust of this essay, though. I think you're assuming to much and jumping to conclusions. This was just a simple essay to future students, that doesn't mean this is all he has to say on the subject.

It amazes me that he can make a point of mentioning the tough competition from China and India (where degrees are more “skill oriented”) and then go on to suggest students spend their college years pursuing a “liberal education” as he calls it.

It doesn't surprise me at all. The classics are probably the best place to discover a philosophy of work and strategy that is useful in this environment (and any future environment).

Also, people in developing countries work like hell because they have to to survive. They were given nothing. We were given everything. We're not facing nearly the same risks. You can't just tell these students "Hey! You will have to work hard because those other guys are." and expect them to jump. You have to change the way their mind works, and the classics have the material to do so. Otherwise, people who have grown up with an easy life have a tendency to squander what they have and become fat and lazy.