In Schooling in Capitalist America, Samuel Bowles and Herbert Gintis argued that schools train a labor force in the skills and attitudes necessary for the health of a modern economy. What are these skills and attitudes?

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Bowles and Gintis argued that the education system is designed to prepare individuals to fit into their future roles in the capitalist economy, particularly by instilling in them the ability to follow orders and perform repetitive tasks, which are seen as essential for the functioning of the labor market. This perspective suggests that schools serve to reproduce the existing class structure by training students not for critical thinking or creative independence, but for compliance and the ability to handle the monotony of many workplace environments.