State and federal investment in higher education has been declining for decades. John Avlon: The government hasn't given money to colleges, it's just offloaded the debt onto students. He says this serves a disciplinary function by loading students up with so much debt that they don't really feel like they can engage in radical social activism.Avlon: If we make them indebted, then they can't be radicals. But this is certainly an unintended effect.
Featuring Dennis Hogan on the crisis in higher education. The first in a two-part series. Next up: Donna Murch and Todd Wolfson on how university workers can fight back through industrial unionism.
Read Dan's interview in The Nation thenation.com/article/world/qa-daniel-denvir
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Buy On Shedding an Obsolete Past: Bidding Farewell to the American Century by Andrew Bacevich haymarketbooks.org/books/1949-on-shedding-an-obsolete-past