Political Correctness in Academia

Beschreibung

This book explores the phenomenon of political correctness in academia and explains why and how scholars and administrators impact PC’s prominence in the academic sphere. To do so, it examines the actions of these agents through the lens of public choice theory, revealing how self-interested strategies drive the policies and norms of the university.

The book examines the ideological dimensions of political correctness and highlights four key spheres of influence – academic research, higher education curricula, affirmative action and speech codes. The book offers a nuanced exploration of how PC and liberalism have common ground. It demonstrates how the liberal values of equality and individual liberty largely underpin PC, whose regulatory function is to protect a liberal value system from illiberal truth claims. Yet the book also shows how interest groups form around the concept of PC in universities and have successfully used systems of rent-seeking and collective action to shape institutional policy and protect their members from ideological and professional competition, which can be seen as a violation of classical liberal principles of fair competition and equal opportunity. This book is a valuable tool for researchers working in political economy and PPE (politics, philosophy and economics), as well as those interested in the political economy of academia and the concept of PC more generally.

Sandra Dzenis is a Research Affiliate at King's College London, where she completed her PhD in Political Economy in 2020. Her research explores the intersection of politics, philosophy, and economics, with a focus on applying positive political theory to the study of speech policies and norms in liberal societies.

This book explores the phenomenon of political correctness in academia and explains why and how scholars and administrators impact PC’s prominence in the academic sphere. To do so, it examines the actions of these agents through the lens of public choice theory, revealing how self-interested strategies drive the policies and norms of the university.

The book examines the ideological dimensions of political correctness and highlights four key spheres of influence – academic research, higher education curricula, affirmative action and speech codes. The book offers a nuanced exploration of how PC and liberalism have common ground. It demonstrates how the liberal values of equality and individual liberty largely underpin PC, whose regulatory function is to protect a liberal value system from illiberal truth claims. Yet the book also shows how interest groups form around the concept of PC in universities and have successfully used systems of rent-seeking and collective action to shape institutional policy and protect their members from ideological and professional competition, which can be seen as a violation of classical liberal principles of fair competition and equal opportunity. This book is a valuable tool for researchers working in political economy and PPE (politics, philosophy and economics), as well as those interested in the political economy of academia and the concept of PC more generally.

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Sandra Dzenis

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academia political correctness rent-seeking public choice theory rational choice theory collective action problems interest groups in higher education PC political economy of universities

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“The thought and speech police of the past claimed to be motivated by justice, but their actions were better explained as the pursuit of power and self-interest. In this sophisticated analysis, Dzenis shows the thought and speech police of today are no different. The banners of inclusion and social justice—while not insincere—are nevertheless a mirage. This book not only explains the world we live in, but gives us the power to laugh in the faces of the bullies, now stripped of any pretense of moral superiority.” (Jason Brennan, Robert J and Elizabeth Flanagan Family Professor, Strategy, Economics, Ethics, and Public Policy, McDonough School of Business, Georgetown University; Editor-in-Chief, “Philosophy & Public Affairs”; Editor, “Public Affairs Quarterly”; Associate Editor, “Social Philosophy and Policy”)

“Public Choice theory was developed by academics to understand public institutions. But it is all too rarely applied to studying academics itself. Dzenis does a marvelous job of analyzing the motives, constraints, and political influences that shape ‘political correctness’ in the modern university. Tracing the effects on research, the curriculum, hiring practices, and speech ‘codes,’ Dzenis gives a careful and fair-minded assessment of how we got here. Most important, the author grants that many of the motives of political correctness are laudable, but their implementation and dominance have become a threat to academic freedom and open discussion. Using Public Choice theory, and the insights of Buchanan, Olson, and others, to understand academics is an important research agenda, and this book makes considerable progress in advancing our understanding without simply making accusations or suggesting wrenching change.” (Michael C. Munger, Pfizer,Inc./Edmund T. Pratt, Jr. University Distinguished Professor; Director of Philosophy, Politics, and Economics Program; Professor of Political Science, Economics and Public Policy, Duke University)

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