Summary Of A Perfect Mess By David F Labaree

Published in 2017, David F. Labaree’s book A Perfect Mess: The Unlikely Ascendancy of American Higher Education analyzes exactly what the title suggests. Across the United States of America there is a total of 2,618 accredited four-year universities/ colleges (the words are synonymous throughout Labaree’s writing, a trend I will continue in this review). Within the first page Labaree states that this system was never really supposed to work. He then continues the book by showing the ways American higher education was able to grow into the successful system it is today. During his argument Labaree wavers back and forth on supporting the idea that public universities are strong enough to stand on their own without state funding. Ultimately, he decides that they aren’t. Public and private universities are two different animals that are seeking to survive in the same wilderness. Hence, I agree with Labaree that the system of public universities will consequently crumble if state funding is completely cut for colleges.
Competition against private universities is too rough for public universities to try to keep up with. To exist, public universities need help from the state. Private universities are like
lions: strong, independent, and highly athletic (prestige). In a dissimilar fashion, public universities are like a domesticated house cat: tame, lazy, and controlled by a master (government involvement). Both animals belong to the cat family, however, one is clearly dominant over the other.
Highly accredited private universities, which include the likes of Harvard University, Yale University, Brown University, Duke University, and Massachusetts Institute of Technology, can hold their own.
On top of being successful academically, as well as being able to support themselves financially, these colleges can independently run themselves. Labaree explains that public universities deal with layers upon layers of bureaucracy which can seize up any attempt to make an operational change. Of course, private universities are not able to get away with anything, they too must jump over hurdle but not nearly as many. The major difference is governmental involvement. Private universities can create a program and must only run it through boards within the
university.
I use the word lazy in loose fashion. It is not a slam against public universities, I am simply commenting on their reliance on the status of the United States. When the GI Bill was instated universities saw a large upturn of enrollment, but once that period was over and there was no longer money flowing from the Unites States government openly, colleges found themselves in a sticky situation. The Cold War refocused the country on higher education, sadly it did not bring awareness to the fact that colleges had been struggling before this time of prosperity. Universities decided to increase tuition in response to the lack of money from the government, once again placing the weight of monetary burden on the backs of students. Though I make the statement in the beginning that public universities are like domesticated house cats and seem to insinuate that they are inferior to lions, representative of private universities, public universities are under supported gems. There was a transition in the late 19th century where high school education became a normal in American society. Thus, higher education at universities became the new level for social advancement for people to strive for. As this system grew and developed there was a bit of a hierarchical imbalance created. Higher education began to benefit those who could afford to get it. To paraphrase Labaree, people in the lower class now had access to an elite area of society, yet they were being tracked to lower, technical class jobs. This trend has continued into the 21st century since upper-class students attend selective schools, lower class students attend regional and urban universities, and lastly working-class students attend technical schools and receive job specific degrees. Even though those who need the social boost the most attend the stigmatized “lowest” colleges, they are still earning benefit from the existence of public universities. It should be a much higher priority of states to maintain funding for their colleges.
In a unique fashion, Labaree’s book on the American University system, plays on natural human instinct of hope. Naturally, those who are involved in higher education currently want to hear that the system is working perfectly, or at least something close to functioning. Throughout his novel on higher education Labaree builds his thesis around the system being an adaptable, living being, one that has both pros and cons. He recognizes that people see flaw in the American system but attempts to sooth the reader back into the lulled state of higher education still being an elite figure. However, this fundamental tone in his book shatters when he reveals his true thoughts. In a surprising turn of events Labaree admits that the American system of higher education, specifically in public colleges, is weak due to its dependency on state funding.