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The most fundamental change in American academics over the past 40 years is their wholesale corporatization and the resulting loss of academic independence, cou

The most fundamental change in American academics over the past 40 years is their wholesale corporatization and the resulting loss of academic independence, coupled to a fundamental change in culture towards secrecy instead of openness (as per the desire to protect profitable intellectual propery aka 'trade secrets'). This is perhaps more prevalent in the science and engineering divisions, but the social wing is now acting more like a corporate propaganda division. Notably, 'academic wokeness' doesn't extend to criticizing another trend in the USA, the destruction of the middle class and the economic division of the country into aristocrats and serfs. This is mirrored in 'corporate inclusivity' - i.e. the apparent goal is to make the ethnic-racial-religious-gender makeup of the wealthiest 1% identical to that of the poorest 15%, while maintaining the economic divide. The whole thing reeks of psychological manipulation and state/corporate propaganda.

tristor 4y ago
I think it's more direct than that, most of the people preaching academic wokeness are actively against the existence of a middle class and see the middle class as an enemy, because the middle class is the successful outcome of balanced capitalistic policies. By forcing the divide, it allows them secure power by speaking to the serfs and using their support to bolster themselves, while they maintain a privileged position amongst the elite. This has always been the case with academics, and why academia preached the very means of their own downfall in the earlier part of the 20th century in those nations that decided to take up arms against the bourgeoisie. You're also absolutely correct that anybody with an understanding of political philosophy is appalled at the replacement of the more dire and obvious economic challenges that come with class stratification with endless ink being spilled about DEI that doesn't include any acknowledgement of economics or class. It's obvious that most of the DEI work, especially in the academy, is a distraction from truer economic divides which exist within Western society, and that the ideology acting as a replacement for personal religion does not have any measuring boundaries to allow for a balanced perspective.
zozbot234 4y ago
> the destruction of the middle class Except that poor people in the U.S. have far more material comforts than many in the "global middle class". The real untold story is the destruction of social capital in the U.S. and the tight-knit community structures and institutions that used to maintain and foster it - which is also the more relevant factor behind the very real, enduring marginalization of the lower classes.
eli_gottlieb 4y ago
>Notably, 'academic wokeness' doesn't extend to criticizing another trend in the USA, the destruction of the middle class and the economic division of the country into aristocrats and serfs. Plenty of academics criticize neoliberal capitalism. They're just also materially fueling it and lie to themselves about it.
UncleMeat 4y ago
And yet, the departments that are most derided for being "woke" by the right (the humanities) are the only ones who are critical of American hypercapitalism and the hollowing out of the middle class. If you want honest analysis of the economic ills of our system, you need to go to the humanities departments.

tristor 4y ago

I think it's more direct than that, most of the people preaching academic wokeness are actively against the existence of a middle class and see the middle class as an enemy, because the middle class is the successful outcome of balanced capitalistic policies. By forcing the divide, it allows them secure power by speaking to the serfs and using their support to bolster themselves, while they maintain a privileged position amongst the elite. This has always been the case with academics, and why academia preached the very means of their own downfall in the earlier part of the 20th century in those nations that decided to take up arms against the bourgeoisie. You're also absolutely correct that anybody with an understanding of political philosophy is appalled at the replacement of the more dire and obvious economic challenges that come with class stratification with endless ink being spilled about DEI that doesn't include any acknowledgement of economics or class. It's obvious that most of the DEI work, especially in the academy, is a distraction from truer economic divides which exist within Western society, and that the ideology acting as a replacement for personal religion does not have any measuring boundaries to allow for a balanced perspective.

zozbot234 4y ago

> the destruction of the middle class Except that poor people in the U.S. have far more material comforts than many in the "global middle class". The real untold story is the destruction of social capital in the U.S. and the tight-knit community structures and institutions that used to maintain and foster it - which is also the more relevant factor behind the very real, enduring marginalization of the lower classes.

eli_gottlieb 4y ago

>Notably, 'academic wokeness' doesn't extend to criticizing another trend in the USA, the destruction of the middle class and the economic division of the country into aristocrats and serfs. Plenty of academics criticize neoliberal capitalism. They're just also materially fueling it and lie to themselves about it.

UncleMeat 4y ago

And yet, the departments that are most derided for being "woke" by the right (the humanities) are the only ones who are critical of American hypercapitalism and the hollowing out of the middle class. If you want honest analysis of the economic ills of our system, you need to go to the humanities departments.