Conservatives Are Doing Academia Wrong
They Don't Quite Get How Its Done
Last week, I attended a conference where we discussed the politics of professions. Of course, the theme of professor politics came up and why conservatives are very, very underrepresented in the academy. I still believe that Neil Gross’ book, Why Are Professors Liberals and Why Do Conservatives Care, has the correct answer. Gross argues that conservative political attitudes are strongly correlated with a preference for more well paying occupations, which academia is not.
Still, on the margin, that can’t be whole story. Given that academia is an environment more enjoyable for people with progressive views, you would still expect that some disciplines or universities would specialize in conservative academics. Those places are few. In economics, you have a few programs that specialize in Austrian economics (GMU, Auburn). A few schools have an overt conservative orientation (Ashland, Hillsdale, maybe Chapman). But that’s it beyond religious institutions. Compared to the large system of higher ed, it’s a drop in the bucket.
This suggests that conservatives are “doing it wrong.” I don’t think this situation can be completely reversed, and maybe that’s ok, but there is room for meaningful change. Here are three ideas:
For elite academics and major funders: This is a curious lack of rewards for very high performing academics. There are conservative foundations (e.g., Templeton) that will support research, but there is no “conservative MacArthur genius grant.” Right now, the major academic awards in humanities and social sciences (MacArthur, Pulitzer, Nobel) tend to go mainly to progressive or liberal thinkers. An extremely large award would serve to bring attention and institutionalize another branch of academia.
For everyday academic work: I have noticed a curious trend in social sciences and humanities. Libertarian and conservative intellectuals actually get rewarded during their lifetimes, but their work is not actively canonized. For example, in sociology, the conservative academic Robert Nisbet is widely regarded as a very good writer. Yet, his work is slowly slipping away, and few contemporary sociologists care. Thus, non-progressive intellectuals should actively work on canonization projects. This doesn’t mean thoughtless worship. Rather, it is meant to establish that there is tradition that can be studied and critiqued.
For students: A lot of conservative student life is (a) griping about progressive academia or (b) doing “performance art” activism (e.g., the affirmative action bake sale). Instead, non-progressive students should have reading clubs where they read short excerpts of important works. In the Zoom age, you could easily ask various politicians and scholars to zoom and discuss. This would be infinitely better than getting wrapped up in the noxious MAGA politics of the modern GOP.
In the big scheme of things, these suggestions aren’t too hard. We should try them out.
Bottom line: Whining about the system only gets you so far.
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