Daphne Patai on the Uniformity of Academic Thought

George Leef

Professor Daphne Patai of UMass-Amherst has a good post at Minding the Campus. She writes about the uniformity of thought she encounters among her fellow academics, which of course ranges from Marxist to "progressive." One result, she observes, is that students absorb statist cliches, such as the notion that the Tea Party is rooted in racism, and rarely hear any arguments to challenge them. But when a conservative or libertarian tries to add programs, professors or speakers to provide the case for liberalism (in its original meaning) and to show how damaging the concentration of government power is, he is sure to be vilified for "undermining academic freedom" and "trying to buy the curriculum."

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