"A self-enriching aristocracy, a swelling and increasingly immiserated proletariat, and a shrinking middle class." In the eyes of Bill Deresiewicz, that describes not just the US economy as a whole but also the troubled landscape of higher education. Deresiewicz discusses the plight of academic labor and other trends within the academy. He also evaluates calls for the abolition of tenure and for technology-based and market-driven reforms.

Human consciousness, creativity, development, and organization: So many facets of the human condition interested Walter Benjamin (1892-1940), whose insights into the big questions of modern existence continue to resonate. A new volume of Benjamin's early writings, in which the German philosopher-critic holds forth on topics like education, creativity, history, and the search for truth, is edited by Howard Eiland.

Private foundations, including Bill Gates's, are pouring billions of dollars into market-based initiatives to remake our public schools. According to Joanne Barkan, the foundations have successfully shaped the national debate on education and have influenced, and in many cases effectively set, government policy. What hasn't been shown, Barkan points out, is that the "reforms" they're pushing actually work.

The Central Falls, Rhodes Island school district fired the entire staff at a struggling school to the ringing endorsement of Barack Obama -- perhaps the highest profile example of an ongoing offensive against teachers and their unions. Scholar Pauline Lipman discusses the push to roll back public sector unions,  privatize public education, and promote charter schools. She also addresses the influence of the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation on US education policy.

We're in a fiscal emergency, and so, we're told, harsh budget-cutting measures must be taken, including in the area of education. Gray Brechin disagrees. He contrasts the government's extraordinary commitment to education during the New Deal with current efforts to eviscerate public education. Also, EPI's Ross Eisenbrey describes how students who work as unpaid interns are used and abused in the private sector.

Some nations' populations do better than others. They are, on average, healthier, and they live happier lives. Why is this? Is it because some countries are richer, or because their residents have higher living standards? In a new book, Richard Wilkinson and Kate Pickett show that higher levels of health and social problems occur in societies with greater income inequality.