China Vs. US: Education

As China emphasizes "common prosperity," the leadership has cracked down on tutoring companies that provide educational advantages at great expense. The Chinese reaction to tutoring is that such education provides advantages available only to the wealthy. For such tutoring costs, families generally spend 20% of their income. 

It is interesting to see the same implicit "crackdown" occurring in the US. From the scandals around bought admissions to the removal of standardized tests, the leadership in the US is attempting to "level the playing field." Of course, admissions processes have long held a heavy hand in granting favor to those perceived to be operating at a disadvantage. 

But in China, ironically, the crackdown has impacted the private investor in tutoring companies while the changes occurring in US higher education has not affected private investment. The reason for this is that higher education has been purified of the private sector interests. 

It is clear to me that both systems are trying to emphasize a "meritocracy" approach and that the conviction of a system's worth has become a moral one - an increasingly murky distinction where self-rationalization and justification may be leading the way. Despite the structural weakness of the "meritocracy" thesis, its appeal is a potent force for investors and politicians. In this way, I am finding China and the US more common than different.