> The issue is so complicated that I don't even know where to begin to address it without sounding like a Kacyznski-nut.
I don't find it complicated at all. The root issue is that there is too much supply and too little demand. There are too many people willing to work in the academia, while the rest of the world is only willing to feed far fewer academics. Everything else is just symptoms. This was already clear when I did my PhD 10-15 years ago. In the past couple of years, the job market finally reached some kind of breaking point and started to rebalance itself.
I don't find it complicated at all. The root issue is that there is too much supply and too little demand. There are too many people willing to work in the academia, while the rest of the world is only willing to feed far fewer academics. Everything else is just symptoms. This was already clear when I did my PhD 10-15 years ago. In the past couple of years, the job market finally reached some kind of breaking point and started to rebalance itself.