There's a huge cultural shift happening right now that isn't being discussed nearly enough.

It's the effect that our educational system is having on work ethics. I hear older people talk a lot about how gen z is lazy, entitled, soft etc. but there's never much talk about why that might be the case.

The answer I think has to do with the way kids were raised in the last few decades. It's been accelerating since sputnik shook American elites to radically invest in public education.

Schools pump out young people who are programmed to think of themselves as intellectuals. This is especially true of college and higher education, which the lower grades are geared towards setting kids up for. The average Starbucks barista or McDonald's employee has spent about 15 years of their lives learning all kinds of things that don't immediately apply to them. Imagine the investment. The long hours spent in a classroom instead of playing with friends. The hours and hours of studying, homework and frustration. Now imagine after all of that your life consists of repeating the same menial tasks every day for barely enough to afford gas. That's the world young people face today. No wonder people aren't giving a shit.

Giving everyone access to a broad education has unforeseen consequences. It endows each person with an identity that doesn't mesh with the outside world of adulthood, where most people find themselves with "unfulfilling" jobs. Kids spend the first quarter century of their lives being encouraged to dream, develop self esteem and think highly of their own abilities. Then they run into the brick wall of adult work culture and become depressed and disillusioned. Many turn to socialism or self destructive behaviors to cope with the loss of their perceived status. They feel unrecognized and abused by the system.

I don't know what the solution is here, but I've been thinking about this a lot and felt like typing this up. I'm wondering what everyone else thinks of my hypothesis.