So Your Freedom-loving Kid Is Going to College, Pt. 1
How do you pick the right school?
Colleges, and especially college professors, take a beating from freedom lovers these days. And it isn’t without some desert. Organizations like the Foundation for Individual Rights in Education have documented all kinds of abuses of students’ rights by institutions and individuals in higher education. It is also clearly true that college faculty, at least at the major universities, are significantly to the political left of the American public and certainly no friends of the really free markets that The Freeman Online readers are likely to support. So what to do if you have a college-bound junior or senior in your house as the season of college visits marches on? Are there ways to try to make sure he or she has the best experience possible? There are, and in this week’s and next week’s column I’ll offer some suggestions.
One obvious choice is to attend a college with a reputation for being sympathetic to the freedom movement, such as Grove City or Hillsdale. Another choice is to attend a religious institution whose values parallel those of your son or daughter. These are a solution for some, but clearly not anywhere near a majority. What to do if your kid doesn’t want to go either of those routes?
Before even asking freedom-related questions, find schools that are good fits in all other relevant respects. Students do best when they go to colleges that feel right to them across a whole range of variables that have nothing to do with freedom issues. It would be a mistake for a young person to decide on a college only, or even predominantly, for its political environment. Many prominent libertarians are products of schools not so conducive to libertarian ideas. I went to the University of Michigan as an undergraduate, having already become a libertarian. I not only survived, I loved every minute of it.
One of the great advantages of attending a left-leaning school is that you get exposed to the best arguments that the opponents of free markets have to offer. I’m a much better scholar and much more able to interact with my professional colleagues on the left today for having been through that experience. As John Stuart Mill wrote in On Liberty, the only way to know how good your own arguments are is to expose them to dissenting views. (This, I should add, is also the downside of attending a school that has an explicit conservative or libertarian image — you don’t get exposed nearly as much to the best that others have to offer.)
In general, though, if you and your child are concerned about so-called “political correctness” and monolithic thinking by the faculty, there are a few things you should try to find out. First, how highly does the school value teaching and how much teaching do regular faculty do? Schools where teaching is rewarded and is done by the regular faculty (as opposed to graduate assistants or even temporary faculty) are much less likely to have the sorts of “classroom indoctrination” horror stories we read about. If you follow those stories, note how often the problematic faculty member is an adjunct (temporary faculty) or a graduate assistant. The indoctrination-oriented classroom is just bad teaching, and students know it and will complain about it on evaluations and in other forums. It will backfire on faculty. Really good teachers, even if they have strong views, know that trying to cram them down the throats of undergraduates makes for a really bad classroom and won’t work in any case.
Critics of left-leaning faculty don’t give young people enough credit. Most of them know indoctrination when they see it, and the last thing most of them want to do is adopt the beliefs of their elders. They just aren’t that conformist, as the parent of any teenager will tell you.
Even though I wouldn’t change my own undergraduate experience, 20 years of teaching at a small liberal-arts college has made me more of a believer in the value of those kind of schools than I ever was before. (And I’ve put my money where my mouth is: My own son attends a school that mostly falls into that category.) Liberal-arts colleges meet the criteria above much more so than larger state or private schools. It’s also worth noting that a number of U.S. liberal-arts colleges have recently become home to small groups of faculty associated with the Austrian school of economics. For students who care about freedom, these sorts of schools can often be good environments.
In part II I’ll offer some other strategies and suggest questions to ask as you explore your options.
Comment by Jonathan Finegold Catalán on 21 January 2010:
Attending a university that leans the least in libertarian thought, I think, should be the objective of every “liberty-minded” student. These stem from my own experience and my own opinions; here are some points:
1. Any student can get enough of an education in libertarian philosophy, political science and economics (et cetera) through private readings. For example, I own almost sixty books on the topic, all of which were collected in the past year. Of course, not all students have jobs like me, but there are plenty of websites online that offer free books through PDF downloads. Given this wealth of resources in libertarian thought, attending a “mainstream” school provides a sobering opposing viewpoint. This type of balance is always good. Furthermore, like Prof. Horowitz says, it makes you a better critique of your intellectual rivals if you are faced against the most erudite of them. I believe I read somewhere that Prof. Jesús Huerta de Soto makes his students read The General Theory, and then tells them to correct Keynes’ mistakes.
2. Although I do not expect many libertarians to agree with me, I believe that in order to be influential in your life you have to play the game and earn a position of influence. Once you are in a position of influence, then you can help to change the world. What does this mean? For those who are looking to go on and get a doctorates in economics, or in any subject which incorporates libertarian thought (which is almost any subject, if not all), you will have to play the game. You can, of course, opt for graduate schools which may have a leaning towards your own opinions, but the most well respected schools are those which are “mainstream”—for the very reason that they are mainstream! I consider myself an Austrian economist, but my main objective is to go to go to a school that is as far away from Austrian-oriented as possible (ideally, the University of Chicago, but we’ll see about that).
3. If liberty-minded individuals cluster in schools already built around their opinions, what it does is isolate libertarians from other students. This may be what you are looking for, but I do not think you are looking for the right thing. A libertarian student should be active on campus, which means that the student should join libertarian groups. If one doesn’t exist, start one! I am pushing to start a libertarian organization in San Diego State University, and I am hoping to get it off the ground by the end of the Spring (2010) semester. By spreading to non-libertarian campuses and forming active groups, you help spread libertarian ideals to those who otherwise would have never encountered them.
One of my own fears is embracing Austrian, or general libertarian, thought to such a degree where I turn blind to anything contradictory. At this point, I would consider myself as bad off as any close-minded Keynesian, or what have you. Keeping an open mind is integral to being a good scholar. I don’t think libertarian should fear being persuaded (and, if you are, who is to say that you are wrong in doing so?), because libertarianism for me is the only rational choice. My years of mainstream education have only served to strengthen by libertarian foundations.
The strongest libertarians are those who consistently fight against the tide, not those who keep with like minded individuals. Before ending my comment, I want to add that I do not intend to insult anybody, and if any of this is insulting then please accept my sincerest apologies.
Comment by Kevan Barley on 21 January 2010:
I think that the better strategy is to spend the undergraduate years learning and mastering true things. Innumerable students have complained to me about bizarre professors teaching reprehensible garbage. Such a colossal waste of time and money just isn’t necessary.
Comment by Christy on 22 January 2010:
While there is a strong value to being exposed to and confronted by opposing thoughts, I must put in a word for the value of acting on one’s own beliefs.
While attending a Hillsdale or Grove City has the lamentable effect of leaving one more surrounded by like-thinking people, it also has the laudable effect of enabling one to act on the belief that the state shouldn’t be in the business of schools.
This is a constant conflict for people of principles. Do I choose that which gives me the most, or perhaps which think can do the most good; or do I choose to sacrifice that advantage in favor of acting on the principles I profess?
Comment by Terri K on 22 January 2010:
One of the great advantages of attending a left-leaning school is that you get exposed to the best arguments that the opponents of free markets have to offer. I’m a much better scholar and much more able to interact with my professional colleagues on the left today for having been through that experience.
I can attest to the validity of that statement but at the high school level. I have 2 daughters in high school; a junior and a senior. In general, the teaching at their school is leftist/statist, especially in history and government. My girls hear my (extreme!) libertarian views at home. I was initially very upset that this garbage was being taught in school, but my worries were unfounded. The dichotomy of thinking has prompted my daughters to develop an interest in philosophy, politics and economics and to question everything. It has inspired them to seek information on their own and to stand up for their libertarian beliefs, regardless of how popular. They have learned logical and critical thinking skills–skills that certainly haven’t been taught or even encouraged in their high school.
I appreciate this article and am looking forward to the next one.
Comment by steve on 27 January 2010:
This is all interesting and all but I have another idea: What about skipping college all the way for 1 or 2 years and engage in self education, research, writing, travelling or …a job! I think our society is way too obsessed with the issue of college as the main environment where a young man can develop himself intellectually. Getting off the system and entering the market is one of the best way for a young Libertarian to get to understand his world. I went to a college for 2 years and I was really put off by the nonsenses that are taught and by the apathy of the general student body. I decided to drop off for a year, then a second years but my yearning for academia and knowledge was still intact. Free from the constraints of college reading lists, I was able to engage myself into all types and reading and it is through that experience that I discovered Austrian economics and became a student. I soon returned to college the year after and I realized how much I had grown in maturity, intellectual confidence, self discipline ( from my job experiences) and general knowledge. College is great but sometimes a young mind can often be pushed to side with the “beliefs” of the system while a “worn out” rebel who has experienced the world is much more likely to challenge the “experts” and “professczars” !!
Comment by Campus Reform on 29 January 2010:
This is a great article — we reposted it (with credit, of course) at CampusReform.org: http://www.campusreform.org/articles/so-your-freedom-loving-kid-is-going-to-college-pt-1
It’s extremely appropriate for Campus Reform because the site is designed for libertarian and conservative students who experience “so-called ‘political correctness’ and monolithic thinking by the faculty.” In other words, it’s a forum for students to draw attention to indoctrination-oriented classrooms/campuses and get assistance if needed.
Right now, for instance, Campus Reform is working on a situation at Indiana University where the administration refused to bring libertarian economist Thomas Woods to campus…after paying $40K for John Edwards: http://iub.campusreform.org/group/86/blog/indiana-university-40000-for-edwards-nothing-for-free-market-thinkers
Anyway, if your freedom-loving kid goes to a less-than-freedom-loving college, it’s a good resource to have on your radar.
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