> Back in your day education was not sold as a financial transaction to a prosperous life.

Assuming the person you're talking to is still alive, this isn't true.

> The honor system is idyllic and requires idyllic circumstances: people who pursue education for no reason other than curiosity or self improvement.

This isn't true either; if your student body consists of only those people, you don't need any system at all. There is no point in even notionally punishing students who don't want anything from you.

I'm still alive, and college wasn't really sold primarily as a financial investment when I attended in the 1970s.