Brooklyn College Study Group To Prove That Freedom Is Slavery

Mitchell Langbert

Robert T. Viscusi of Brooklyn College’s Ethyle R. Wolfe Institute, which received its initial funding when Richard M. Nixon was president, e-mailed an announcement that Professor Samir Chopra will lead a study group to discuss Professor Corey Robin’s Reactionary Mind: Conservatism from Edmund Burke to Sarah Palin. The e-mail states that the seminar will prove that conservatism is a reaction against democracy, and it lumps John C. Calhoun with Ayn Rand. The discussion will be at taxpayer expense. The e-mail says, “Conservatives through history have defended power and privilege against freedom and equality.” Is this education or taxpayer-funded ideology?

Will Professors Viscusi and Chopra permit disagreement, or will disagreement constitute a lack of collegiality, a claim recently made at Brooklyn College? The e-mail does not indicate whether the democratic ideologies of Stalin and Mao will be used to illustrate Robin’s and Chopra’ commitment to freedom and democracy.

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