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Stephen Downes

Knowledge, Learning, Community
Nothing in this document is false. And yet, this is a document I feel should be thoroughly repudiated. It is a description of 'human capital', defined as, "a combination of individuals' own innate talents and abilities and the skills and learning they acquire through education and training." Human capital does, we are told, provide a 'return'; "the returns to human capital can be understood in terms of the prosperity, both the individual's and that of the national economy." And "The years of formal education are crucial to human capital formation, and to ensuring that young people develop the skills and knowledge that will enable them to earn a living in later life." Yes, we could talk about human beings through the metaphor of assets and valuation. But we shouldn't, because it becomes far too tempting to think of them in those terms, to think that a company or a government 'owns' its human capital - in which it has, after all, invested. Via Jorge Goncalves.

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Stephen Downes Stephen Downes, Casselman, Canada
stephen@downes.ca

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Last Updated: Dec 22, 2024 06:07 a.m.

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