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One of the worst parts of this is that the bureaucrats in school systems are so smug about it. They go yelling "academic freedom" when you threaten to cut thei

One of the worst parts of this is that the bureaucrats in school systems are so smug about it. They go yelling "academic freedom" when you threaten to cut their job, while clamping down on the "acceptable" fields of study for faculty. These administrators are the real threats to academic freedom. That said, I think the entire US university system needs a rethink, so I'm not upset that these bureaucrats are accelerating the process of burning it to the ground.

salamo 4y ago
From the article, > The founders of the democratic tradition understood that institutions are prone to corruption. This does not mean that they cease to operate. It means, to the contrary, that they continue to function, but in ways that no longer serve their original purpose. It's not clear to me that universities will burn to the ground. They can probably stumble along for decades down the same path if nothing changes. No, their incentives need to be corrected.
- User23 4y ago
  Lindy[1] suggests that Harvard will outlive the United States. Edit: [1] https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lindy_effect https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lindy_effect
  - naniwaduni 4y ago
    Harvard is older than the US, and frankly does at least seem better-aligned to its original goals (training Puritan ministers!) than the US does.
  - pclmulqdq 4y ago
    I think when people think about universities, they think of Harvard and Stanford, but there are a lot more schools like (for example) Middle Tennessee University. These are schools that extract Harvard-like rents without the prestige or quality, and these will be the ones that go down. Harvard and its ilk will likely survive the next millennium.
  - abecode 4y ago
    If you ignore the whole education thing, universities are organizations that aim to preserve their own existence (like religions) rather than return money to shareholders (like companies)

salamo 4y ago

From the article, > The founders of the democratic tradition understood that institutions are prone to corruption. This does not mean that they cease to operate. It means, to the contrary, that they continue to function, but in ways that no longer serve their original purpose. It's not clear to me that universities will burn to the ground. They can probably stumble along for decades down the same path if nothing changes. No, their incentives need to be corrected.

User23 4y ago
Lindy[1] suggests that Harvard will outlive the United States. Edit: [1] https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lindy_effect https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lindy_effect
- naniwaduni 4y ago
  Harvard is older than the US, and frankly does at least seem better-aligned to its original goals (training Puritan ministers!) than the US does.
- pclmulqdq 4y ago
  I think when people think about universities, they think of Harvard and Stanford, but there are a lot more schools like (for example) Middle Tennessee University. These are schools that extract Harvard-like rents without the prestige or quality, and these will be the ones that go down. Harvard and its ilk will likely survive the next millennium.
- abecode 4y ago
  If you ignore the whole education thing, universities are organizations that aim to preserve their own existence (like religions) rather than return money to shareholders (like companies)