One thing Trenton Oldfield did right

Trenton Oldfield attacks the elitists

Everyone thinks Trenton Oldfield is an idiot, it seems. Even amongst Guardian readers – those you might expect to be sympathetic – 77% thought “he spoilt a nice day out and alienated millions”. His main problem is that, in truth, he has no idea what he's talking about. “Elitism leads to tyranny,” he says. No, dear. The Neoliberal agenda leads to tyranny; elitism just leads to the “elite” and “non-elite” not liking each other very much.

Protesting about tuition fees is a waste of good placards

Apparently 2012 is going to be a bumper year for protests, and I am quite looking forward to them. As the late logophile Christopher Hitchens once wrote, “seek out argument and disputation for their own sake; the grave will provide plenty of time for silence”. But what would the brilliant man have made of the recent tuition fees increase? Having earned a third class degree in PPE from Oxford, and having achieved in his short life much more of merit than Mr David Cameron – who got a first class degree in precisely the same course – he would probably advise against going to university at all. He'd say that it's vastly overrated, except for the free love and alcohol.

In saying this, Hitchens would be – as he often was – wrong but for all the right reasons. When he graduated, he became social science editor on the Times Higher Education Supplement, something unthinkable today, even with a first-class degree. Currently, a good degree is essential for all but the most menial of jobs, and even then, work experience and networking are always necessary for starting in better-paid careers.