Tinkering with Market Forces

by Justin Davidson
Justin.Davidson@nymag.com

Reality-Based Item No. 1: Harvard Graduate School of Design and the architectural firm RMJM will pool $2 million in an effort to guide freshly minted architects and engineers away from “more lucrative careers in high-tech and management consulting.”

Reality-based Item No. 2: Harvard Law School announced that it would waive $40,000 tuition for third-year students who agree to spend five years working in government or for non-profit organizations.

Fantasy-based Item No. 1: Harvard Business School and the Poynter Institute for Media Studies form a partnership to develop a new economic model for journalism in a post-print world. “While ink on paper is a replaceable technology, the catastrophic implosion of the news-gathering business is a threat to democracy,” the two institutions announce in a joint statement. 

Fantasy-based Item No. 2: Harvard Business School and Harvard's Office for the Arts create a new foundation to guide artists, filmmakers, choreographers, and composers away from more promising careers in, say, criticism.