R: Go Home

At some point in our time at Yale, we will all have to answer the question, "what next?"  Our friends in ROTC will serve in the military and some students will attend graduate school, but otherwise, most will move to a major city (probably New York) in order to chase career ambitions or seek high-paying jobs. Even if one didn't attend Yale with the express purpose of joining the "elite", a Yale degree nevertheless presents opportunities that are hard to turn down. Someone who chooses not to return home after graduation need not be selfish: one can be drawn elsewhere out of the desire to support one's family financially, or to make a difference in law, politics, business, or the media. Furthermore, in some cases it is impossible to pursue one's choice of career at home. How would a North Dakotan interested in aerospace engineering be able to go home after graduation?

Nevertheless, "brain drain" from left-behind communities is a potential cause for concern. Developing countries have long complained that wealthier countries suck away their best talent, depriving them of the individuals who are most likely to change their homes for the better. Now, Rust Belt residents are making similar arguments, describing a vicious cycle in which economic stagnation leads to brain drain, which leads to the erosion of local communities and substance abuse, which in turn leads to more economic failure and brain drain. At the same time, empirical research on brain drain indicates that its impact may actually be negligible, because the same circumstances that compel migrants to leave also prevent them from making much of a difference if they were to remain at home. But would it be hypocritical for those who value localism not to return home and support the communities in which they were raised?