I ranted once about how Academia (among other non-profit institutions) attracted the left because unlike the real world (AKA, the "private sector") you didn't have to produce anything of worth, nor compete, nor have any real skills. Actually, it's probably best you don't because it seems as far as I can tell, Academia's primary purpose is not to educate, but employ those who would otherwise be unemployable.
Thus, when I saw this on Market Power (hail another economist!), I had to post it here as well.
http://www.leadershipinstitute.org/04RESOURCES/Flynn-BlueCampuses.htm
I've been saying for a while that universities serve as centers of isolation for those who can't otherwise make it in the private sector or the military-industrial sector. Being unhappy with the fact that they are of no use to most in society, they've decided that it's not them that's the problem, but rather society itself.
ReplyDeleteSo, in order to fix this problem, they pulled out their Gramsci and decided to turn the university from an institution of learning and enlightenment into an "institution of resistance" (to quote one professor who recently commented on Inside Higher Ed).
[read: "institution of the Left"]
Here they can use their otherwise useless skills and interests to indoctrinate young minds who have not been taught any form of sound reasoning in public schools. They can take advantage of the fact that people around that age tend to have a resistant streak in them, and they can turn this to their own purposes by showing them that this resistant streak has purposes and should be put to use.
The intellectual elite thus uses these individuals, now trained to be either lawyers and, later, politicians, to push ideas [that would otherwise be strictly limited their college campuses] in an imperialistic manner through society as a whole.
However, in order for them to be able to push these ideas through society they must first show society that there are a whole litter of "crises" that threaten the existence of the nation, or the planet, and that they, the "experts" on the issue, have all the solutions to these "crises."
Thus, they have developed a strong power base from which to launch attacks. Nowhere in this country are there as many left-wing nutballs per capita as on college campuses.
Robert Nozick's essay, "Why Do Intellectuals Oppose Capitalism?" may be of interest to you.
ReplyDeleteTalk about useless! Here's what some students had to say in their evaluation of a prof in socionomology:
ReplyDeletehttp://the-econoclast.blogspot.com/2005_05_22_the-econoclast_archive.html#111690143277050252
WOW! Finally! I've even had people on the right argue with me. Nice to know that we've all come to the indentical conclusion without conspiring.
ReplyDeleteIts always nice when such of information is being shared with others.It keeps the view of other people updated.
ReplyDelete