迪兰•拉提根的无耻混蛋

    就算读者能忽略这些阴谋论，作者的说法还掩盖了不少系统性的问题：大学学费正在上涨（这才是学生及其家庭需要寻求高额贷款的最基本原因），可大学学位本身已不再是毕业后找到一份工作的保证。可是，尽管哈佛大学（Harvard）、西北大学（Northwestern）、欧柏林学院（Oberlin）或其他高等教育机构为学费的上涨出力不少，拉提根并未正面挑战它们，只是坚称这些机构应变得更加透明，向学生家庭提供清晰具体的账单，让后者知道交的到底是什么钱。他也没有提及年轻人是否真需要上大学才能成功这一问题，而最近投资大亨彼得•泰尔等人对此多有探讨。（不出意料，拉提根还对基础教育作了批评——缺乏创新、教师平庸等等，值得一提的是，其中根本没有涉及教师工会。）

    可是，该书最大的缺陷在于缺乏原创性的报道，这真是可惜，因为拉提干很喜欢向读者吹嘘自己当记者的能耐。（财政部长蒂姆•盖特纳不同意接受我的采访……我能理解他的选择——如果我是盖特纳，我也不会愿意回答我那些尖锐的问题！）拉提根批评大型媒体，称其经常要照顾购买广告位的政治或商业集团的利益，并暗示媒体上的信息并不总是可靠，因为许多学者和专家是企业资助的，这些批判合情合理。然后他继续开始搜集能够支持自己的说法的奇闻轶事、名人名言，还从《华盛顿邮报》（The Washington Post）、《华尔街日报》（The Wall Street Journal）、《纽约时报》（The New York Times）等大报乃至《制造业新闻》（Manufacturing News）和《税务笔记》（Tax Notes）之类出版物上，归纳出许多事实来。

    可是，该书没有多少全面的报道。举例来说，作者关于教育的那一章充斥着对创新项目的描述，以及麻省理工学院科学家尼古拉斯•尼葛洛庞帝、沃伦•巴菲特之女、早教倡导者苏茜•巴菲特等善心人士的言论。他盛赞可汗学院（Khan Academy）创始人萨尔曼•可汗，后者别具匠心的教育视频广为家长和部分学校所接受，被用作课堂学习的补充。可拉提根从未将我们带到一个教室中去——我们看不到学生为什么有困难，以及如何与其作斗争，更看不到他提倡的解决方案落到实处是何效果。他向我们讲述使学习资源更容易获得、学习进程更为高效的科技，却不作展示，我们从未听到一个学童或家长讲述自己的经验。相反，这个民粹主义者花了大把时间来跟象牙塔中人交流。

    综上所述，这本书充满了愤怒与激情，但完全缺乏内涵。我重申，这太遗憾了，因为拉提根本可以找出众多个人故事来，阐述好银行大盗和各种恶棍造成的问题，同时提出修复教育、医疗保健、银行和其他破碎体系的方案。至于你是否该买拉提根这本书，本•富兰克林曾经写道：“省下一便士，等于赚得两便士。”如果你需要别人解释该表述才能明白，那或许拉提根的书正适合你。

    译者：小宇

    Even if the reader puts aside this conspiracy theory, the author glosses over a few systemic problems: College tuitions are rising (which is why students and their families take out big loans in the first place) yet a college degree on its own is no longer a guarantee of employment post-graduation. But Ratigan doesn't take on Harvard or Northwestern or Oberlin or any of the institutions of higher education that are contributing to the rising cost of school, other than to insist they become more transparent and provide families with itemized bills showing what they are paying for. Nor does he address the question of whether young people really need to attend college to be successful, an issue that investor Peter Thiel has taken up recently, for example. (Notably absent from Ratigan's unsurprising critique of elementary education -- not enough innovation, mediocre teachers -- is any mention of teachers' unions.)

    But the book's biggest shortcoming is its lack of original reporting, a shame, since Ratigan likes to remind his readers of his journalistic bona fides. ("[Treasury Secretary Tim] Geithner wouldn't agree to do an interview with me ... I can understand his choice -- if I were Geithner, I wouldn't want to answer my tough questions either!") Ratigan, justifiably, criticizes big media for often being beholden to political and business interests that buy advertising, and implies that information in the press may not always be reliable because so many academics and experts are funded by corporations. But then he proceeds to grab anecdotes, quotes that support his assertions, and assorted facts from the likes of The Washington Post, The Wall Street Journal, The New York Times -- even outlets Manufacturing News and Tax Notes.

    But there's very little in the way of shoe-leather reporting. His section on education, for example, is full of descriptions of innovative programs and quotes from well-meaning folks like MIT's Nicholas Negroponte and Susie Buffett, Warren Buffett's daughter and an advocate for early education. He praises Sal Khan of the Khan Academy, whose innovative teaching videos are widely embraced by parents and even some schools to supplement classroom learning. But he never takes us inside a classroom -- we don't see how and why students struggle, nor do we get a glimpse of his proposed solutions in action. He tells, but doesn't show, us techniques for making learning more accessible and effective. We never hear a child or parent talking about their experiences. Instead, this populist spends a lot of time talking to Ivory Tower types.

    The result is a book that is full of anger and passion, but utterly lacking in heart. Again, this is too bad, because there are many personal stories that Ratigan could have found to illustrate the problems caused by banksters and villains, but also to show how to fix classrooms, healthcare, banking and other broken systems. As for whether you should buy Ratigan's book, as Ben Franklin once wrote, "A penny saved is twopence dear." And if you need that expression explained, perhaps Ratigan's book is perfect for you.