NAS Blog

That’s the subject of my Clarion Call today.

I like some aspects of the book. Best of all is Wildavsky’s argument that we should abandon educational mercantilism — the notion that nations have to compete to be tops in educational “investment,” university prestige, and similar distractions. Because knowledge is not constrained by national boundaries, we should stop worrying about musty old “us versus them” ideas. Also, Wildavsky doesn’t go for the tendency to bash for-profit higher ed, showing that it fills some important niches.

What I didn’t care for so much was the author’s enthusiasm for the trend toward globalized universities, with lots of American universities setting up campuses in places such as Abu Dhabi. I see that as mostly glitz and conspicuous consumption rather than true educational advance.