The American College Cartel

America's elite universities, often perceived as bastions of education and innovation, operate under a business model that more closely resembles luxury brands and cartels. Far from fostering competition and lowering prices, privatization in the U.S. has led to market consolidation and increasingly expensive options across various sectors, including healthcare, utilities, and education. This trend is particularly evident in higher education, where the cost of college has skyrocketed, and access has become more restricted.

The Scarcity Model: Luxury Brands of Academia

Elite universities like Harvard, Stanford, and MIT charge six-figure annual fees, positioning themselves as luxury brands built on manufactured scarcity. They deliberately limit enrollment, even as demand explodes, creating an exclusive aura. Their campuses are designed as temples of prestige, history, and culture, much like high-end luxury stores. Admission is not based on merit alone but is often influenced by generational purchase history and significant donations from the wealthy and powerful. These institutions sell status, not just education, marketing admission as lifelong proof of superiority and intelligence, despite a lack of objective data to support claims of better teaching or job outcomes compared to other universities.