In my book “The Storm Before the Calm,” I wrote that the United States is headed into institutional and socio-economic crises. The institutional crisis, in my view, would primarily concern the way the federal government functions, but it would also implicate the way universities function. The latter is critical because the university is the arena where future technologists, investors and members of Congress establish the foundations of their knowledge.
On the
crisis of universities, I see three issues. One is financial; the cost of
education has been unsustainable for individuals and the government alike. (The
large number of forgiven loans has compounded this problem.) The second is
ideological; ideology has been replacing scholarship in the classroom and in
the administration buildings. The third is what I would call procedural; the
admissions process has tended to screen out social and ethnic groups that seem
unattractive to the university’s idiosyncratic values.
Most
relevant to the crisis at the moment is the wave of pro-Palestinian student
protests washing over the country, a situation that has inspired
counterprotests and forced expensive schools to default on delivering what
students had paid or borrowed for: an education.
Many of
the protesters have focused on the right to free speech. But the existence of
free speech requires a place where ideas can be discussed and used. Thomas
Jefferson mentioned this point. There has to be a commons where people can meet
and disagree. Free speech of course can be anything, but the essence of it is
that statements can be disputed. And the essence of that is the presence of a
commons where ideas can be measured. Technology has made the practice obsolete,
but not the principle. More important is the moral imperative to allow
discordant notes to be heard. Speech that blocks out argument is not, in my
thinking, what the founders had in mind. I think they thought of civility and
the mutual respect of citizens. It is an unlikely vision but one that is
violently undermined at the university. The demonstrators demanded rights that
did not include or extend to debate. The Constitution does not demand mutual
respect, so the founders’ expectation or hope is not relevant.
But we
are speaking of universities where freedom of speech and civility are essential
qualities. The university is a place not for unassailable truths but where
civil discourse can expand the breadth and perhaps meld the exchanging of
views. In a university, speech must be heard as well as spoken, and the speaker
must hold open the possibility that they’re wrong.
This is
an unlikely event. But it is a goal to be strived for. Universities made no
attempt to create the civility that is essential to them. Instead, they allowed
howling mobs to claim that their howling was free speech. In other places, it
might be. At a university, the standard must be higher. It wasn’t. The law may
recognize threats and insults as such, but a university should demand more.
Some
have compared the demonstrations to the anti-Vietnam War protests. I was in
university then, and the demonstrations did not stop the war as many myths
claim. The war ended because of adult public opinion and the realization that
the war could not be won. It made TV but did not make history.
There is
now unease about universities. This is inevitable and will not go away. Is a
university education worth the shocking cost to families and governments? Do
universities teach students the fundamental principles of civil discourse along
with deep knowledge to take them into the world?
****George
Friedman
https://geopoliticalfutures.com/author/gfriedman/
George
Friedman is an internationally recognized geopolitical forecaster and
strategist on international affairs and the founder and chairman of
Geopolitical Futures.
Dr.
Friedman is also a New York Times bestselling author. His most recent book, THE
STORM BEFORE THE CALM: America’s Discord, the Coming Crisis of the 2020s, and
the Triumph Beyond, published February 25, 2020 describes how “the United
States periodically reaches a point of crisis in which it appears to be at war
with itself, yet after an extended period it reinvents itself, in a form both
faithful to its founding and radically different from what it had been.” The
decade 2020-2030 is such a period which will bring dramatic upheaval and
reshaping of American government, foreign policy, economics, and culture.
His most
popular book, The Next 100 Years, is kept alive by the prescience of its
predictions. Other best-selling books include Flashpoints: The Emerging Crisis
in Europe, The Next Decade, America’s Secret War, The Future of War and The
Intelligence Edge. His books have been translated into more than 20 languages.
Dr.
Friedman has briefed numerous military and government organizations in the
United States and overseas and appears regularly as an expert on international
affairs, foreign policy and intelligence in major media. For almost 20 years
before resigning in May 2015, Dr. Friedman was CEO and then chairman of
Stratfor, a company he founded in 1996. Friedman received his bachelor’s degree
from the City College of the City University of New York and holds a doctorate
in government from Cornell University.
fecha |
Título |
20/06/2024| |
|
13/06/2024| |
|
06/06/2024| |
|
24/04/2024| |
|
09/04/2024| |
|
11/08/2023| |
|
09/05/2023| |
|
26/01/2023| |
|
10/11/2021| |
|
16/08/2020| |
|
17/07/2020| |
|
24/10/2013| |
|
09/10/2013| |
|
29/09/2013| |
|
10/09/2013| |
|
06/09/2013| |
|
04/09/2013| |
|
27/08/2013| |
|
20/08/2013| |
|
20/08/2013| |
|
16/07/2013| |
|
03/07/2013| |
|
11/06/2013| |
|
05/06/2013| |
|
27/05/2013| |
|
02/05/2013| |
|
05/04/2013| |
|
27/03/2013| |
|
21/03/2013| |
|
13/03/2013| |
|
13/03/2013| |
|
20/02/2013| |
|
04/02/2013| |
|
18/01/2013| |
|
13/01/2013| |
|
07/01/2013| |
|
13/11/2012| |
|
07/11/2012| |
|
30/10/2012| |
|
24/10/2012| |
|
05/09/2012| |
|
31/08/2012| |
|
21/08/2012| |
|
17/08/2012| |
|
11/08/2012| |
|
31/07/2012| |
|
31/07/2012| |
|
24/07/2012| |
|
26/06/2012| |
|
20/06/2012| |
|
05/06/2012| |
|
29/05/2012| |
|
22/05/2012| |
|
15/05/2012| |
|
08/05/2012| |
|
02/05/2012| |
|
24/04/2012| |
|
17/04/2012| |
|
10/04/2012| |
|
10/04/2012| |
|
27/03/2012| |
|
20/03/2012| |
|
20/03/2012| |
|
13/03/2012| |
|
13/03/2012| |
|
06/03/2012| |
|
06/03/2012| |
|
28/02/2012| |
|
28/02/2012| |
|
28/02/2012| |
|
28/02/2012| |
|
28/02/2012| |
|
28/02/2012| |
|
21/02/2012| |
|
21/02/2012| |
|
21/02/2012| |
|
19/10/2011| |
|
04/10/2011| |
|
20/09/2011| |
|
13/09/2011| |
|
07/09/2011| |
|
07/09/2011| |
|
30/08/2011| |
|
30/08/2011| |
|
16/08/2011| |
|
09/08/2011| |
|
03/08/2011| |
|
13/07/2011| |
|
13/07/2011| |
|
21/06/2011| |
|
21/06/2011| |
|
14/06/2011| |
|
14/06/2011| |
|
08/06/2011| |
|
08/06/2011| |
|
31/05/2011| |
|
31/05/2011| |
|
24/05/2011| |
|
24/05/2011| |
|
19/05/2011| |
|
19/05/2011| |
|
10/05/2011| |
|
10/05/2011| |
|
26/04/2011| |
|
26/04/2011| |
|
12/04/2011| |
|
07/04/2011| |
|
28/03/2011| |
|
20/03/2011| |
|
17/03/2011| |
|
15/03/2011| |
|
09/03/2011| |
|
09/03/2011| |
|
01/03/2011| |
|
22/02/2011| |
|
15/02/2011| |
|
09/02/2011| |
|
26/01/2011| |
|
12/01/2011| |
|
07/01/2011| |
|
29/12/2010| |
|
13/12/2010| |
|
07/12/2010| |
|
05/12/2010| |
|
30/11/2010| |
|
23/11/2010| |
|
20/11/2010| |
|
16/11/2010| |
|
10/11/2010| |
|
09/11/2010| |
|
06/11/2010| |
|
26/10/2010| |
|
15/09/2010| |
|
30/08/2010| |
|
30/08/2010| |
|
03/08/2010| |
|
27/07/2010| |
|
13/07/2010| |
|
24/06/2010| |
|
24/03/2010| |
|
20/09/2009| |
|
26/08/2009| |
|
19/08/2009| |
|
27/01/2009| |
|
01/10/2008| |
|
01/10/2008| |
|
25/09/2008| |
|
25/09/2008| |
|
24/09/2008| |
|
24/09/2008| |
|
23/09/2008| |
|
23/09/2008| |
|
08/09/2008| |
|
08/09/2008| |
|
26/08/2008| |
|
26/08/2008| |
|
13/08/2008| |
|
13/08/2008| |
|
24/06/2008| |
|
24/06/2008| |
|
04/06/2008| |
|
04/06/2008| |
|
07/05/2008| |
|
15/04/2008| |
|
31/01/2008| |
|
05/01/2008| |
|
03/11/2007| |
|
11/10/2007| |
|
12/09/2007| |
|
22/08/2007| |
|
29/07/2007| |
|
28/07/2007| |
|
27/06/2007| |
|
30/11/2006| |
|
30/11/2006| |
|
09/11/2006| |
|
01/11/2006| |
|
05/10/2006| |
|
06/09/2006| |
|
20/07/2006| |
|
17/05/2006| |
|
30/04/2006| |
|
19/03/2006| |
|
15/02/2006| |
|
26/01/2006| |
|