[maked00]

Education has been on a lets get as top heavy as we can kick for years. Go to any educational institution, anywhere in the US. Check out the oak paneling in the administrative offices. Check out the explosion of administrative positions. Check out the rise of administrator salaries. That is where the money goes while class sizes increase, teacher salaries nosedive, and essential core subjects get trivialized or cut.

[eli_gottlieb]

Yes, well, that's what the corporate-capitalist model of enterprise does for you. The people who control the means of production (in a university, that's the administrators who control resources and staffing) are more important than everyone else and will eat as large a portion of the pie as they can grab.

There are really only two ways out: labor struggle or cooperativization. I recommend the latter, on grounds that it's actually the model traditional universities used: the faculty ran the university in check and balance with the trustees, who made ultra-high-level administrative decisions on behalf of the public and the future. There's no reason not to simply undue the neoliberalization of academia and go back to the proven model.

In fact, and I want to EMPHASIZE this, the only reason any shift ever took place away from the proven model was a concerted political attack against academia during the Culture Wars. Whatever you think of my obviously left-wing views in general, you have to admit that until politicians started getting elected on a platform of Stick It To Students, academia ran very well as a public institution funded by taxpayers and capital-asset grants (like land-grant colleges in the USA) and accountable primarily to voters, donors, and academics themselves.

[Jtsummers]

> The people who control the means of production (in a university, that's the administrators who control resources and staffing) are more important than everyone else and will eat as large a portion of the pie as they can grab.

This reminds me of my current place of employment. A minor perk at many offices is a reserved parking space. Before my time (90s, early 00s) the head of the organization had a reserved spot, the rest were for the top engineers with some spots rotating out based on quarterly or annual awards. In the early 00s the other managers began whining and eventually got their own reserved spots. With 100+ reserved spaces at the front of the lot someone realized they'd gone overboard. So they removed the engineers' reserved spots.

[eli_gottlieb]

This reminds me of my current place of employment.

It's the Marxist description of capitalist employment, so you're supposed to be reminded of your day-job.

[Jtsummers]

Good point. Interestingly, I work for the government[1]. It wasn't until this facility started operating 'like a business' that a lot of the promanagement, antilabor activities took off[2]. I'm always amused by my small government libertarian colleagues that keep moaning about the government cutting spending on us, but also want all food aid and social welfare gone. One day they'll realize that we're on the government dole. Fortunately, I've developed a good poker face.

EDIT:

[1] US since I shouldn't assume anything about my audience.

[2] I'm speaking about this facility, can't speak to government operations in general.

[eli_gottlieb]

An additional point: contrary to a lot of orthodox left-wing views, it is possible for major enterprises, especially public or nonprofit ones like government agencies and universities, to run like something other than a capitalist business. A good summary of the 30-year ideological project known as neoliberalism is, "The project to make everything run like a capitalist business, whether that works well or not."

[Jtsummers]

I think I'd enjoy having more discussions with you, and maybe when I'm less distracted my input will be more than anecdotal observations. Look forward to seeing you around the discussion board.