Let me tell you how free college educated "progressive" libs (who own capital) are reacting to this news:
Lib: - Well it's not that bad cuz they won't be charged much anyways
Me: They are a very small minority, the cost of teaching them it's the same. It should remain free for all, no exceptions.
Lib: Well but I can't go to their countries and study for free, it should be reciprocous
Me: Who cares? It's the same charging them than not, and they are opening the door to charge money to all of us
Lib: Well I would have been able to pay some amount. Plus we used to voluntary pay some small money for student lab material, but then it was outlawed and so the students labs pipettes fell in disrepair.
Me: regardless of amount the university should have payed it
Lib: Well but foreigners who come study here, their taxes don't cover their education.
Me: I already told you teaching such small number costs the same as not teaching them. Plus you are opening the door to everyone getting charged. If we'd had to pay the price of a degree in (for example) Colombia, we both won't be laureates.
Lib: Well we could have payed something, plus my college partners spent a lot in booze and parties. Plus there's no money so anything would help and it should be reciprocous at least.
How do we shake out these individualist brainworms? I see variations of this argument ALL the time: "A few people in group X are bad/irresponsible/not-like-me so no one can have the nice thing"
I don't think it is possible most of the time, they're a lost cause. Individualism in the west is not just a personality trait but extremely tied to cultural behaviour and identity, rejecting individualism is often seen as attacking western/American values of freedom and autonomy.
Maybe it is possible in the rare cases this person happens to be a hypocrite and they happen to have benefitted from some form of government program or maybe they have some personal aspiration that could be fulfilled through some government plan but they don't realize it due to misinformation.
I think a simple example was the Bernie campaign for healthcare and meeting people that still believed their insurance costs would be higher or their service quality would be worst somehow. At the very least you have to make sure they don't have these false beliefs as part of the foundation.
But as I said imo American individualism is so tied to culture that nothing short of massive government re-education through a revolution would change anything. It is a lost cause really. The most you can hope for is these people are not the majority because eventualy they'll become hypocrites themselves, material conditions etc eventually everyone will desire something and if that can be provided by society then it can be the start.
I often tell people the protestant mindset of the American population will never be killed. Work will always make the "man" and if a "man" does not work "he" does not eat is a fundamental part of that.
And the escuse they used over in the states against free education - but you'd be subsidizing the rich!
My brother, the rich don't send their kids to public college because they want the luxury of having a prestigious private "I'm rich, bitch" title for their nepo baby. It won't be a problem.
Well how do you know!
Have you seen your idol ? Have you looked at the executive and political class all from Harvard and Yale? They aren't going to give a fuck about a public university degree.
They do be using it here too "those rich brats living in apartments paid by their parents could easily pay for their free college" [the ones who don't go to the Catholic Universities (aka the only prestige private universities outside of Buenos Aires City) cuz they petty burshwá not rich ]