Should I do a PhD in Classics?

Universities are not Marxist

The conspiracy theory that universities are hard-left institutions which indoctrinate their students into becoming hardened Marxists is prevalent in certain right-wing spheres. There are some embarrassing posts recently being made by TurningPointUK about lecturers trying to brainwash their students on campus and marking them down if they refuse to adopt their views. It reminded me about this long-standing theory, so here I am to demolish it.

Let’s try to see if this theory has any merit and play fairly. It is true that most universities (at least in the UK, which is what I know most about personally) put on a show of being invested in diversity issues, such as LGBT rights, feminism, race and supporting more representation of traditionally excluded groups. Whether this is just rhetoric or something they actually deliver on is a matter of debate. It is also true that most lecturers I know are strongly in favour of remain and were against Brexit.

None of the above has anything to do with Marxism. Being in favour of social diversity and opposing Brexit are views which are representative of mainstream liberal thought. In fact, members of the hard left in the UK can often be in favour of Brexit because they are against the EU as an institution (Dennis Skinner is a very good example of this). And it is also true that moderate conservatives can support social progressivism.

Another angle which is often brought up is that postmodernism dominates in academic circles. This is mostly true, but it has no bearing on Marxism. The vast majority of lecturers are invested in theories such as post-structuralism because of the way it helps them examine texts and approach research differently. The political views of leading figures of post-structuralism, which were largely hard left, are left aside. I think part of the reason that people conflate lecturers who use postmodernist thought as Marxists is because of the ridiculous statements by Jordan Peterson, who alleges that lecturers started concealing their Marxist beliefs with postmodernist thought after the disaster of the Chinese cultural revolution. Peterson is unfortunately influential among a sizeable portion of young men (and some women) and his pseudo-philosophy has permeated this ‘universities are Marxist’ discussion.

Yet to be honest, it’s patently clear the universities aren’t Marxist simply by the way they operate, which is neo-liberal and cut-throat capitalism to its core. Hiring junior lecturers on temporary contracts which lead nowhere, demanding more publications from staff and refusing to increase pay to meet inflation is hardly hard left. The reaction from senior management to the recent UCU strikes is also not even on a soft left wing position and is actually quite right wing. There are many senior members of academic departments who didn't support the strikes. It seems absurd to me to claim that universities are a dangerous Marxist institution which are brainwashing students but also are operating like other capitalist companies.  

Finally, there’s the issue that if lecturers really are trying to brainwash their students, they aren’t doing as a good job as these conspiracy theorists claim. Most students are not as left wing as people assume, which is most recently evident by the large number of students who are angry with striking lecturers and are petitioning for them to stop. The stereotype is that students become hard left at universities, but in reality, most graduates tend to shift from centrist positions to centre left after they enter employment and suffer on low incomes, insecure contracts and struggle with paying to meet basic living needs.

So no, universities aren’t Marxist. It's a theory that will doubtlessly continue to persist, but it's an unusually stupid one.