I think that the problem is students are being taught "how to think", not "what to think".

Back in the bad old days, students crammed lots of facts in into their heads. That gave them an understanding of how the world worked, how it has worked in the past, and a solid platform for thinking about how it might change.

Now, students learn "how to think". Of course, nobody can teach that. So instead, they learn how to churn out 3 point essays, pretend to examine both sides of the argument, then to declare that, on the balance, the side which they gave the most air time to has more points in favor of it.