Ideology in Universities
Robert Maranto wrote a must read op-ed for the Washington Post about the bias in academia / the political ideologies ruling in American universities. His conclusion: there’s a serious problem. He seems to be something of a Centrist, slight left-of-center himself, but he’s considered to be far right among fellow professors.
Mr. Maranto writes:
I spent four years in the 1990s working at the centrist Brookings Institution and for the Clinton administration and felt right at home ideologically. Yet during much of my two decades in academia, I’ve been on the “far right” as one who thinks that welfare reform helped the poor, that the United States was right to fight and win the Cold War, and that environmental regulations should be balanced against property rights.
All these views — commonplace in American society and among the political class — are practically verboten in much of academia. At many of the colleges I’ve taught at or consulted for, a perusal of the speakers list and the required readings in the campus bookstore convinced me that a student could probably go through four years without ever encountering a right-of-center view portrayed in a positive light.
I know how he feels. Although I’m probably a Centrist or slightly right-of-center in America, I am conservative - and quite conservative at that - in the Netherlands. When we have debates in class, and we often have them, I’m just about the only one who’s arguing from a conservative point of view. Most of my fellow students are farther left than my father, who’s a moderate socialist. The same can be said about my professors. Last year I had passionate debates with one anti-American and anti-Israeli teacher. He was constantly talking trash about America and Israel and acted as if capitalism is the root of all evil.
Quite sad, yes, but this is happening constantly in Dutch universities and there are only two ways for conservatives such as myself to deal with it:
- Don’t say a thing and let the professor and the few active socialist students turn every other student into a socialist (and yes, we’re truly talking about socialism here.
- Respond and become one of the most unpopular students in the class.
Since I’m not about to let professors or fellow students spout nonsense, I fall into the second category. I could care less, of course, what matters is that someone is telling it like it is. What’s more, college students too should consider the conservative point of view. Other students and professors act as if conservatives are utterly idiotic. That has got to change.
Back to the op-ed.
Not only is Maranto considered to be far right, or ultra-conservative, he says that his career has suffered because of it.
I think my political views hurt my career some years back when I was interviewing for a job at a prestigious research university. Everything seemed to be going well until I mentioned, in a casual conversation with department members over dinner, that I planned to vote Republican in the upcoming presidential election. Conversation came to a halt, and someone quickly changed the subject. The next day, I thought my final interview went fairly well. But the department ended up hiring someone who had published far less, but apparently “fit” better than I did. At least that’s what I was told when I called a month later to learn the outcome of the job search, having never received any further communication from the school. (A friend at the same university later told me he didn’t believe that particular department would ever hire a Republican.)
That´s a serious problem and I’m afraid that it’s not a typical American problem. It’s a typical Western problem. Even liberals should be worried about this: they may disagree with conservative on most if not all issues, but true intellectuals have to admit that it’s necessary for students to encounter all points of view, not just the radical left point of view.
Gaius comments: “The existence of a monoculture presents students with only one point of view. Education becomes indoctrination and the intellectual rigor of the universities suffer. We’ve seen how awful it can get at the University of Delaware just recently. Maranto may be a little on the optimistic side, though. Some of the bias against conservatives and or Republicans is, I think, quite intentional. Look at how imbued the left is with a driving need to silence critics and stifle dissent (all the while screaming that they are being oppressed). They learned that somewhere, don’t you think?”
There’s little doubt in my mind that it is, indeed, partially intentional.
Something has to be done. Both in the US and in the Netherlands
Excellent post, Michael. In education, intellectual diversity is a necessity, and much more important than its cultural counterpart. Also, sometime you’ll have to offer us a personal history on how your slightly right-of-center views (in America) developed. I’d love to listen.
Ha! That’ll bore everyone to death! I’ll write a post about that once, but I fear that you’ll be the only one who reads it
Bet me! Two aspect would be interesting- your philosophical and political development in the light (1) your age and (2) the highly liberal European environment that you’ve grown up in.
My own centrist views have been long held- gong back to my army and college days. I remember toiling over the Nixon-McGovern ballot. Unfortunately, the choices haven’t improved much- rarely has a moderate been served up. I will add this, however. Recently, I’ve experienced the same issue as Maranto- only from the opposite side of the aisle. Some of my staunch conservative friends view me disdainfully as a squishy liberal. That being said, I have friends and associates on both sides of the aisle- a good thing for those of us who believe in pluralism.
As if we needed any further proof that Left and Liberal are NOT necessarily one and the same thing. I’d like that to be the case, since I am certainly left of center in views, but I think liberalism is more important. Real liberalism, the kind that encourages diversity of thought. Uniformity of thought to the left is just a different flavour of authoritarianism. Fascists and Communists aren’t all that different, in the end.
I worry about students educated in a group-think environment, on the left (the examples given) and the right (students who go to conservative religious schools). The real world is not so simple, and college is supposed to prepare you to encounter and work in the real world. People who never hear a dissenting view will be ill prepared for a world where others will not simply nod eagerly when fed propaganda, and may find themselves bewildered and helpless when in an actual debate. Additionally, it encourages an us vs. them mentality that is bad for all nations. You need to learn to think that even the guy that has the exact opposite politics as you still probably wants the best for the country, is not evil, and you have to live with him anyway so you better learn to get along.
Yes, very well said. Two sides of the same coin really.
Again I agree and… that’s not happening now.
Ah, my Spanish friend, you’re talking about European liberalism (liberalism kept its true meaning on the old continent). But yes, those who subscribe to true liberalism would oppose this culture as well.
With regards to European professors I should actually (I think I did?) use "socialists" or simple "the left." They’re not called liberals in Europe: liberals are right-of-center.
Kreiz: will do somewhere this week.
As for that experience: yes, I know what you’re talking about. I’m very conservative for Dutch standards, but American conservative often consider me to be too ‘liberal.’
Which is a good thing I think: it distinguishes me and thus this blog.
What the article points out is that this is prevalent in only certain departments and never says it is wide spread throughout ALL departments.
I wonder what the study says about the hard sciences and engineering, I doubt that Marxist and Libruls rule those departments. Maybe it’s market forces at work…
Sure. Um. That’s also because ideology plays a big role in the hard sciences doesn’t it? Yeah, you’re right. No problem…
Man. O. Man.
Don’t you even realize that, um, the comment was a bit silly?
Michael, I’ve been watching Rick Moran, a disciplined conservative, coming under attack from some of his far-right commenters for criticizing the Administration’s stances, including (this week) taking shots at the Huckabee wing of the GOP and commenting on the CIA’s destruction of the waterboarding DVD. Moran’s hardly a liberal voice. But his firm principles sometimes lead him away from pure partisanship, something that’s not tolerated well on either end of the spectrum.
Rudi- your comment on science and engineering is interesting. The far right has been criticized (rightfully) for offering Christian scientific views, and my recollection is that the Soviets embraced science with a Marxist twist. So those areas aren’t necesssarily off-limits to the political poles.
The Klein and Stern studies only address voting and belief in personal views and voting record. At no point do the two make any claims of BIAS in university studies. Here’s a few direct links to Kleins academic studies, the highlighted part is important.
http://www.gmu.edu/departments/economics/klein/papers.html
http://www.criticalreview.com/2004/pdfs/klein_stern.pdf
http://www.criticalreview.com/2004/pdfs/cardiff_klein.pdf
BTW Thanks for the LARGE quote marks in blockquote!!
How does this:
Relate to the title of the WaPo op-ed?
I didn’t think Rockefeller Republicans existed anymor.
American universities have been hospitable to conservatives since at least the 1930s. Prof. Maranto should familiarize himself with the Southern Agrarian Movement. Recent conservatives who have done very well are John Yoo and Condi Rice. I would add Richard Pipes, his son Daniel, F. A. Hayek, Ludwig von Mises, Richard Weaver, Leo Strauss and Wilmoore Kendall.
Yes they do but professors wouldn’t recognize them because they’re way out there.
I’m not sure how pointing out that some conservatives have been successful underminds the post. Exceptions. Besides, these are a couple of people whereas you can name 20 liberals for every conservative.
I don’t think Rockefeller Republicans exist anymore. Put it this way, they need to hook up with Scoop Jackson Democrats and form a Lonely Hearts Club.
Also, if I step back, it’s one thing to demonstrate that colleges are overwhelmingly populated by registered Dems- they are. It’s quite another to prove that their teaching methods are bias or that they consciously/unconsciously discriminate against moderate/conservative professorial candidates- very tough things to prove.
Kreiz: personal experience can tell you all you need to know in that regard. Seriously. There’s no question in my mind about, at least, the Universities in the Netherlands. Some professors hide their bias, but quite some don’t.
Recent conservatives who have done very well are John Yoo and Condi Rice. I would add Richard Pipes, his son Daniel, F. A. Hayek, Ludwig von Mises, Richard Weaver, Leo Strauss and Wilmoore Kendall.
RECENT conservatives? I can slim THAT list down quickly. Weaver and von Mises have been DEAD for 45 years, Kendall for 40, Strauss for 35, Hayek for 15. Richard Pipes is 84 years old.
The Southern Agrarian Movement was a populist movement, anti-modernist, even near-Luddite in orientation. It was not and is not representative of modern conservatism.
Tully, love it. I thought that list looked a bit tired. Appreciate the factual backup- something you’re always good for.