Authoritarianism and the University

There is a distinct pattern to how autocracies come to slowly consolidate power in seemingly normal democratic societies. In Europe, where the modern university was born, they have historically begun their assault on the people’s right to truth and transparency by first attacking institutions of public good, among which the university is often the first. This assault—and eventually, violence against those who teach, write, study, and research—suggests at the very least a deeply antagonistic relationship between knowledge and authoritarianism, between truth and tyranny.

This is not to say that universities are perfect or that they are always transparent. It is simply to argue that among all modern institutions, the university alone embodies the public’s civil right to educate itself free of fear and discrimination. It is a right without which democracy itself might not survive.

At The Justice Dialogues this Fall, world renowned leader in education and trailblazing scholar Professor…