Quote (Black XistenZ @ Jun 25 2021 02:40pm)
Your post made it sound as if only conservatives/the GOP were corrupted by corporate interest and only their voters were gullible fools who fall for it. The Republican apple might be slightly more rotten than the Democratic one, but you'll still get food poisoning from eating it.
Also, in the situation that the United States actually are in, namely both parties being largely beholden to their corporate overlords, a little destabilization might actually be a good thing.
I dont think the most common accusation against academia is one of a communist takeover, rather one of a liberal takeover where anything right-of-center is underrepresented or outright suppressed.
Regarding climate change: how to address it is a very much open question when it comes to the political aspect of it. The preferred liberal narrative of sacrifice and a reduction in the standard of living will imho never find democratic majorities before it's too late. The only hope are technological solutions. Now, I would be all for massive, and I mean MASSIVE, public funding for research on these technologies. And yes, I'll happily admit that the denial and stalling tactics from the right have prevented this from happening. Nonetheless, liberals dont need to be surprised when stuff like ever-escalating electricity prices, carbon taxes, forcing people to eat less meat or drive e-cars with shitty range are electoral stinkers.
But we're getting far off-topic.
Question is good for who? Trump passed his tax cuts and from there was merely a disrupting force. Now Biden is in power and gives limp-wristed condemnation of elites while doing nothing to stop them and maintaining order. Win win if you're a rich person.
If the accusation is just that it's a "liberal takeover" then they have no case. Liberalism is pretty close to the center of the political and ideological spectrum. To accuse somebody of having a "liberal slant" is to accuse them of having a slight slant to the right. If the accusation was that they are leftists, communists, etc. then they might have a leg to stand on. The fact that the data is something like 40% some kind of centrist, 40% liberal, and then a small amount say they are conservative, means academia as a whole is middling ideologically and conservatives are mad they aren't slanted hard to the right.
How to address climate change is an open question, but we haven't been able to have that debate because, and I repeat, CONSERVATIVES HAVE BEEN ADAMENT THAT IT DOES NOT EVEN EXIST. Modern conservatism is not willing to incorporate new information, which is why the conservative parties in America have spawned global warming deniers, tried to prevent evolution from being taught in schools, and now are massively denying the results of an election.