The Case Against Education
The Case Against Education by Bryan Caplanby Bryan Caplan
Shares rank 10 of 19 economics books by recommenders
Recommended as well-researched and cited for the claim that college is not mainly for job skills. Critics say its author's agenda could steer the evidence.
Recommended as well-researched and cited for the claim that college is not mainly for job skills. Critics say its author's agenda could steer the evidence.
4 people gave an opinion
- recommend it
- 3
- criticize it
- 1
- approval share
- 75%
Recommended in 3 of 13 months
- November 2025: recommended
- December 2025: not recommended
- January 2026: not recommended
- February 2026: not recommended
- March 2026: not recommended
- April 2026: not recommended
- May 2026: not recommended
- June 2026: recommended
- July 2026: not recommended
- August 2026: recommended
- September 2026: not recommended
- October 2026: not recommended
- November 2026: not recommended (month in progress)
Why it doesn’t carry the badge
- 3 people recommend itNeeds 10 or more, not met.
- 3 recommenders for every criticNeeds 2 to 1 or better, met.
- Recommended in 3 of 13 monthsNeeds 4 or more, not met.
The same three rules apply to every product, and the badge can’t be bought. How the badge works
What people say about it
The reasons people give, with the number of comments that give each one. Open a reason to read what they said.
Why people recommend it
Each mark is one comment
Well researched by its author
“It's very well researched, and the author has a long track record of being happy when he moves people even marginally towards his views.”
Comment from 5 Jun 2026 in “Why I'm Skeptical About Efforts to Revolutionize Schooling” College not needed for most careers
“College isn't for skills anyway (for most careers). See Bryan Caplan's Case against Education”
Comment from 18 Aug 2026 in “Beware the Permanent Periphery” Anticipated the trend years earlier
“was prophetic of this phenomenon years ago”
Comment from 30 Nov 2025 in “Americans no longer see four-year college degrees as worth the cost”
What people warn about
Each mark is one comment
Author's agenda could steer evidence
“All research has some levels of agenda behind it, and it would be very easy to steer anything the author presents”
Comment from 5 Jun 2026 in “Why I'm Skeptical About Efforts to Revolutionize Schooling”
Other economics books people recommend
The four most recommended other economics books, with the same counts for each, so you can compare like for like. The tick on each bar marks the 2 to 1 line the badge needs.
| Product | Recommend | Criticize | Approval | Months | Owned | Badge |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Capital in the Twenty-First Centuryby Thomas Piketty | 12 | 6 | 67% | 7 | — | Approved |
| Why Nations Failby Daron Acemoglu and James A. Robinson | 9 | 0 | 100% | 7 | — | — |
| Progress and Povertyby Henry George | 6 | 0 | 100% | 5 | — | — |
| Free to Chooseby Milton Friedman | 5 | 0 | 100% | 5 | — | — |
| The Case Against Educationby Bryan CaplanThis page | 3 | 1 | 75% | 3 | — | — |
What people said
All 4 comments that mention it, newest first. Each links to the original comment.
“College isn't for skills anyway (for most careers). See Bryan Caplan's Case against Education”
“All research has some levels of agenda behind it, and it would be very easy to steer anything the author presents”
“It's very well researched, and the author has a long track record of being happy when he moves people even marginally towards his views.”
“was prophetic of this phenomenon years ago”
Counts come from 1,795,640 Hacker News comments, November 2025 to November 2026. How we count. Report a mistake.