Higher education and the promise of democracy

There is a general consensus among academics around the world that higher education is in a state of crisis. Universities are now facing a growing set of challenges arising from budget cuts, diminishing quality, the downsizing of faculty, the militarization of research, and the revamping of the curriculum to fit the needs of the market.1 In the United States and Canada, many of the problems in higher education can be linked to low funding, the domination of universities by market mechanisms, public education’s move toward privatization, the intrusion of the national security state, and the lack of faculty self-governance, all of which not only contradicts the culture and democratic value of higher education but also makes a mockery of the very meaning and mission of the university. One consequence is that universities and colleges have been increasingly abandoned as democratic public spheres dedicated to providing a public service, expanding upon humankind’s great intellectual and cultural achievements, and educating future generations to be able to confront the challenges of a global democracy.