The value of the Humanities

Our government thinks it's a good idea to intervene in the education market and make it costly to study the Humanities at university, so that people will be dissuaded from courses that don't lead to jobs. Here's a few reasons why this thinking is misguided:

- Organisations are about people, culture & identity, and their success depends on the human values that create thriving workplaces
- In a knowledge and service economy, many of the innovations won't come from STEM disciplines but from deep understanding of human experience and decision-making
- Many of our biggest challenges are wicked problems, that aren't solved through linear processes or the scientific method, but through building trust, finding shared language, navigating through ambiguity, creating compelling visions of the future, understanding how human ecosystems work, and creating alignment and buy-in for change. The Humanities are much better equipped to build these capabilities.
- Business and jobs flourish most where societies are strong with shared values. We have very recent insight into what happens when societies start to fracture.
- Humanities graduates actually DO get jobs and become productive members of society (I offer myself as Exhibit A).
#shorttermthinking #economicirrationalism