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On Academic Capitalism
This week, I had a presentation in my PhD class on a fascinating article by Sheila Slaughter and Gary Rhoades that examines academic capitalism. From my understanding, the book delves deeply into the relationship between universities and the new economy, discussing how they are corporatized and how the liberal state impacts intellectual property versus communalism.
As knowledge becomes increasingly technologized, universities protect individual achievements through publications, much like corporations safeguard knowledge through copyrights and patents.
The authors also argue that many universities have placed business at the core of their curricula and that their activities often support consumption capital. All of this feeds into the concept of the neoliberal state, which promotes privatization and reinforces these practices through intellectual property protections.
The “circuit of knowledge” discussed in the book also extends beyond universities to include three elements: university, industry, and government. In some cases, even peer review is conducted by industry experts and non-academics. Although I’ve enjoyed this book overall, I disagree with several points. So, where is the problem?
For me, the issue lies in two main areas. First, the authors present this as a theory — what they call the theory of academic capitalism…
