Conservatives and rational liberals often agree on what the problems are (not so much the solutions). And both agree that the academic labor market is a bloody mess. The problem, of course, is most acute in the humanities. The obvious culprit is an oversupply of labor—too many Ph.D.s being produced (note, I said rational liberals, not the ones who think the solution is to unionize adjuncts).

And it’s pretty obvious to all (except those who want to unionize adjuncts or preserve their own cushy jobs) that, if the pipeline of graduate students into Ph.D. programs were to be reduced, professors at the major research universities would be forced to teach more and spend less time on their research/hobbies. Therefore, more students are encouraged to pursue their Ph.D.s, despite the dwindling opportunities.

Leonard Cassuto is a professor of English at Fordham University and author of the Chronicle of Higher Education’s “Graduate Adviser” column. His new book, The Graduate School Mess: What Caused it and How to Fix It describes the situation clearly.

But he doesn’t get everything quite right. In this insightful review of Cassuto’s book, Ursinus political theory professor Jonathan Marks points out how Cassuto’s solutions don’t always hit the mark.