That Marc Andreessen interview got me thinking bigger picture so I knocked up this summary for consideration. Marc Andreessen’s Essay "It’s Time to Build is a widely discussed essay, Andreessen criticizes existing institutions, including universities, for being "ossified" and calls for building new systems. He advocates for privatized solutions and has invested in alternative education models like Lambda School (now BloomTech), which focuses on coding bootcamps tied to job placement. It's not a pivot, I'll return to ipatent later, just an aside: The Conservative Push Against DEI: A War on Universities Themselves The conservative attack on DEI is not just about race-based policies. It is part of a larger effort to delegitimize and dismantle universities as centers of elite influence. Figures like Pam Bondi and Kash Patel are not just corrupt opportunists. They serve as enforcers in this ideological project, ensuring political loyalty and power consolidation take precedence over competence or fairness. DEI as the First Step Toward Institutional Collapse The legal and political push has focused on eliminating race, ethnicity, and national origin from university DEI programs. This aligns with a conservative vision of "meritocracy" that, in practice, benefits white and some Asian-American students while restricting pathways for historically marginalized groups. Paradoxically, it also blocks universities from prioritizing full-tuition-paying international Chinese students, undercutting their financial advantage. However, conservatives are not aiming for reform but collapse. While DEI still exists in limited form by promoting diversity through socioeconomic status, disability, and first-generation college attendance, the larger goal is to weaken and eventually dismantle the university system entirely. Bondi, Patel, etc. and the Weaponization of Corruption Many liberals misinterpret figures like Pam Bondi and Kash Patel as merely corrupt. In reality, their corruption is a deliberate tactic to erode institutions from within. Through legal challenges, funding cuts, and public pressure, they work to force universities into compliance while simultaneously discrediting them in the eyes of the public. The goal is not just to strip away progressive policies but to delegitimize higher education altogether. Marc Andreessen: Universities Are ‘Unfixable’ Marc Andreessen’s claim that universities are corrupt, ossified, and beyond reform aligns perfectly with the conservative project. His argument supports: The "Leftist Indoctrination" Narrative. Conservatives view universities as progressive strongholds. Studies confirm a leftward faculty tilt, particularly in the humanities, with registered Democrats outnumbering Republicans 11.5 to 1 in some disciplines. STEM fields tend to be more balanced, but the broader perception of universities as ideological factories fuels conservative hostility. Financial and Structural Destabilization. DEI dismantling is just one prong of a larger attack. Conservatives seek to strip public funding, weaken affirmative action, and eliminate diversity programs, forcing financial strain on institutions that rely on government support. Public universities received $418.6 billion in total revenue in 2020-21, with a major portion coming from state and local governments. Cutting these funds directly undermines their operations. While exact DEI spending is difficult to quantify, many universities have entire offices, staff, and programs dedicated to it, all now under legal and financial attack. Replacing Universities with Corporate and Ideological Models. If universities are corrupt and unfixable, what replaces them? Tech libertarians and conservatives favor privatized education, corporate training, and billionaire-backed alternatives that shift control from academia to private industry and ideological think tanks. The online education market is projected to reach $404 billion by 2025, with corporations investing heavily in in-house training, apprenticeships, and alternative credentialing. The Endgame: Who Controls Knowledge? The attack on DEI is just the opening move in a larger war over who controls knowledge, credentials, and elite status. Conservatives, through figures like Bondi and Patel, work to gut universities from within, while tech libertarians like Andreessen advocate letting them collapse entirely to make way for corporate training, and billionaire-backed alternatives that shift control from academia to private industry and ideological think tanks. DEI is not the final target. The university system itself is.
Universities shouldn't be pushing the private political views of the professors onto the students any more than newspapers should be pushing the views of their employees. Universities have become the spawning ground of wokism and cultural Marxism.
OK, did you read my whole post and that's your entire take? My daughter, who just finished her PhD, did primarily STEM with some business and arts electives. I don’t recall STEM professors pushing personal politics. If an elective exists, it’s because there was demand for it, and discussing political perspectives in, say, a political science or philosophy class is hardly surprising. Are you arguing that universities shouldn't offer courses on politics or social theory at all? Or just that professors should be muzzled from discussing ideas you disagree with? Eliminate the mess and you have an authoratarian society.
The only DEI type initiative I recall was to encourage girls to take on STEM courses. The push to encourage girls into STEM fields has been around for decades. I asked the old AI to do a search and it came up with just this really, not exactly world changing stuff. It’s hard to argue that discussing environmental impact in engineering or bias in algorithms is some kind of ideological takeover. "Universities are increasingly incorporating discussions about the social and ethical dimensions of STEM into their courses. For example, engineering courses may address the environmental and social impacts of infrastructure projects, while computer science courses may examine the biases embedded in algorithms."
I thought engaging you a little might get a few synapses firing but it is having the opposite effect on you. Fair enough, I will leave you alone.
Towson University under scrutiny: alleged DEI programs under investigation (WBFF) — A month after universities nationwide received a stern warning from the Department of Education to comply with the Federal Civil Rights Act, a new investigation reveals that many institutions continue to fund race-based programs with federal dollars. The Department had previously stated, "The Department will no longer tolerate the overt and covert racial discrimination that has become widespread in this Nation’s educational institutions." Researchers from the non-profit organization Parents Defending Education discovered that over one billion dollars in grants were allocated for diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) initiatives. Erika Sanzi from the organization said, "They discovered over one billion dollars in grants which were targeted for DEI... This meant money for race-based programming, money for race-based hiring. Race-based retention."
As you can see DEI will continue.Even more so when a pro DEI administration takes the White House in 2029.