The columnist criticises young associative leaders, namely from the National Association of Medical Students, who oppose the opening of new courses, the creation of private faculties and the increase in student places. The author considers that these students, instead of representing the irreverence and openness of youth, defend privileges and barriers to entry through technical arguments that conceal the fear of losing exclusivity and competition.
The text uses economic concepts to explain the phenomenon. George Stigler formalised the Theory of Regulatory Capture, demonstrating how organisms that should defend the public interest are captured by those they are meant to regulate. Gordon Tullock and Anne Krueger conceptualised rent-seeking, the allocation of political capital to extract economic rents through the limitation of supply, rather than creating value.
The consequences of this artificial limitation are serious, according to the author. In Portugal, more than 1.6 million people do not have a family doctor, there are endless waiting lists, closed emergency departments and rising costs in the private sector. The author argues that quality does not result from closed doors, but from open competition where the best stand out through merit.
The columnist distinguishes, however, these associative voices from the majority of young Portuguese people, pointing out that many elected associations have participation rates below 10% and that three quarters of students do not vote. He concludes that the young generation wants to study, work, compete and advance, without needing associative structures that erect new barriers, calling for the courage to compete in the open market.
