[javert]

“Most economic fallacies derive from the tendency to assume that there is a fixed pie, that one party can gain only at the expense of another.” -Milton Friedman

I just googled "Fixed pie fallacy" - I was assuming (probably wrongly) that most people were familiar with it. I'm not even certain Friedman was the first to identify it.

The first thing I come up with on Google is [1]. It's a decent overview.

[1] http://mjperry.blogspot.com/2006/12/fixed-pie-fallacy.html

[luciferous]

Sure, there's no disputing that the fixed pie fallacy exists, but you have not made a convincing argument that this situation is an instance of the fallacy.

[davidmathers]

Harvard is not fungible.

[chc]

If the quality we're interested in is "being Harvard," then no, Harvard is not fungible. But if the quality is "providing a college education," the Harvard is extremely fungible in many cases.

[ap22213]

People don't seek Harvard for the education only. They seek it or lots of things: access to wealth, access to knowledge and network, increased status, increased reputation.

Otherwise why would there be exceptional demand (and price) for harvard?

[javert]

Right, but top-quality education is fungible.

Not everybody needs to go to an Ivy League, just like not everybody needs to own a 75-ft yacht.

I'm OK with that.