Independence Or Stagnation?: The Imperatives Of University Reform In The United Kingdom

In depen den ce or St a gn a t ion?

In depen den ce or St a gn a t ion? Th e Im per a t ives of Un iver sit y Reform in th e United Kingdom

Den n is O’Keeffe and Da vid Ma r sla n d

Civitas: Institu te for the Stu dy of Civil Society L o n d on

First published November 2003

© The Inst itut e for th e Stu dy of Civil Society 2003 T h e M e z za n i n e , E l i za b e t h H o u s e 39 York Road , London SE 1 7NQ em a il: book s@civit a s.or g.u k Civitas is a r egistered edu cational char ity (No. 1085494) a n d a com pa n y li m it ed by gu a r a n t ee (N o. 0 40 23 54 1). Civitas is financed from a va riety of privat e sources to a void over -re lia n ce on a n y s in gle or sm a ll gr ou p of don or s.

A ll r igh ts reser ved ISBN 1-903 386-32 2

Type set by Civit as in N ew Ce n t u r y S ch oolbook Pr inted in Great Brita in by The Cromwell Press Tr owbr idge, Wilt sh ire

C on t en t s Page

Au thors

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Foreword Robert W helan

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Part I Th e Sou rces of Int ellectu al C orr up tion in Br it is h H igh er E du ca t ion

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Par t II A P u r g i n g of C o n fu s i on s , O n a S u p p l y a n d D em a n d B a si s: W h a t ? W h o? H ow Ma ny? Wh o Pa ys? an d Wh y?

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Par t III Op t ion s for P r iva t is a t ion

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Glossary of Term s

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A u t ho r s D a v i d M a rs la n d MA, P hD , FR SH , is d ir e ct or of r e s ea r ch in t h e De p a r tm e n t of H e a lt h a n d S o cial Car e at B ru nel Un ivers ity. H e wa s p rofe ss or of s oci a l sciences a t t h e W e s t L o n d on I n s t it u t e , as sist an t d ire ctor of th e Social Affair s U n i t, a n d s e n ior r e s ea r ch o ffi ce r a t th e MVA Con su lta ncy. H e w a s ed u ca t e d a t Wa t for d G r a m m a r Sch ool, a t Ca m brid ge Universit y , wh e r e h e w a s c l a s s i cs s chola r a t C h r i st ’s College, a n d a t L S E , w h e r e h e s t u d i e d s o ci ol og y a s a postgrad ua te. H e h a s b ee n h on or a r y ge n er a l s ecr et a r y of t h e B r itish Sociological Association, on the social sciences com m i t t e e of S E AC , a n d a m em be r of t h e U N E SC O s oci a l sciences boar d. In 1991 he wa s t he firs t r e c ip ie n t of t h e Tha tcher A wa r d , p r e se n t e d for h is r e se a rch a n d w ri ti n g on i n d i v id u a l i s m , freedom an d sta te op p r es sion. He has r esear ched wid ely in sociol ogy, s ocia l p olicy a n d e du ca t ion , pu blish ing m o r e t h a n 2 0 0 s ch o l a r l y p a p e r s a n d some 20 b o ok s . His books include S eeds of Bank ruptcy, a critique of sociologists’ prejudices publ i s hed in 1988 by Cla rid ge Press , a n d W elfa re or W elfa re S ta te?, a n a r gu m e n t for r a d ica l welfa re refor m pu blish ed in 1996 by Ma cmilla n. D e n n i s O’Ke effe is professor of social science at t h e U n i ve r s it y of B u ck i n gh a m a n d e d it or of Th e Salisbu ry R evi ew . His pu blications in clude: T h e W ay w a r d C u rr icu lum , Socia l Affa ir s U n it , 19 85 ; tr a n sl a t ion T h e U n d oi n g of T h ou g h t, (Alain F inkielk r a u t ’s L a D efa it e d e la Pen see) C la r id ge, 1988; Th e Waywa rd E lite: A Critiqu e of British T ea ch er E d u c a tion , Ad a m Sm it h I n s ti tu t e , 1 99 0 a n d T r u a n cy in E nglish S econdary S ch ools, DF E, 1 994. H is t r a n s l a t ion of B en ja m i n Con s t a n t ’s Pr in cip les of Pol it ics (Pr in cip es de politiq u e) will be published by th e Liberty Fu nd in J an ua ry 2 004. H e is a broad caster a n d j ou r n a l i st , spe cialisin g in econom ic sociology.

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Forew ord O f a l l t h e s oc ia l p o li cy p r o bl e m s t h a t f a ce u s , the failur e of ou r e d u cation system is regard ed by ma ny as the m os t serious, because of its long-term consequ ences. T h e p u rp o se of ed u ca t ion is to p a ss from on e ge n er a t ion t o t h e n ex t t h e kn owledge a n d va l u es w h ich s u s t ain th e cult ur e. If th is ch a i n is weaken ed, and the link s between the gen er a t i on s sta rt t o give, the prospects for the n ation look bleak. F or t h is reason we a r e delighted t o be ab le t o pres e n t th i s compe lling es sa y, b y t wo of ou r lea di n g a ca de m ic th eori s t s , o n t h e s t a t e o f o u r u n i v e r s i t i es . I t is n ow widely a ccepted th at edu cat ion st an da rd s h ave fallen a t a l l l e ve l s . A s P r o fe s s or s O ’K e e ffe a n d M a r sl a n d poin t ou t , s econ d a r y s ch ool s a r e h a vi ng t o s p e n d t im e t e a ch i n g st u de n t s t h in gs th ey s h ou l d ha ve lea rn ed in p r im a r y school, a n d u nive rs ities ha ve to t ea ch t he m ba sic lea r n in g skills they sh ould have a cquired year s ear lier. H ow e ve r , it would be possible t o m a k e a s p eci a l case for t h e s e r i ou s n e s s of a fa ilu r e in th e t er t ia r y s t a ge of e du ca t ion , b e ca u s e un iversities are, or should be, th e repositories of t h e h igh es t va lu es a n d t h e m ost pr ofo u n d l e ar n in g in t h e n a t ion . Th ey a re ra th er like villa g e s: we can ’t a ll live in t h em , b u t w e l i k e t o k n o w th ey a r e t h e r e . T h e y a r e a s or t of bar ometer te llin g u s s om et h in g a bou t t h e h e a lt h of t h e cu l t u r e. F r o m t h is w e m u s t d e du ce t h a t ou r cu l t u r e i s v er y s i ck i n d e e d . T h e problems, which m ight not u nr easona bly b e described as a collapse of a sen se of pur pose in our u nivers i t i es , a r e so s e ve r e t h a t Simon J enkin s ha s spoken of a 30y ea r s w a r b e t w e e n t h e u n i v er s i t i e s a n d t h e s t a t e. A pp a r en tly, t h e s t a t e h a s w o n. O ’K e effe a n d M a r s la n d a t t r i b u t e t h e p r ob le m s t o t w o in t e r l o ck i n g ca u s e s : t h e m a s s iv e ov er re gula tion o f t h e s e ct o r , a n d t h e he avy d ep en d en ce on st a t e fu n d ing wh ich gives Wh iteh all t he power it cr ave s t o tell e v e r yo n e e ls e w h a t t o d o . T h e y s u g g es t , at th e en d of th eir essa y, a ra nge of p r a ct i ca l s t ep s w h ich m u s t b e t a k e n t o b r e a k t h i s s t r a n g l e h o ld .

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H o we ve r , t h e r e is an other t h em e t o t h is wor k t h a t is even m o r e int ere st ing. T h a t i s, wh a t d o we t h in k un iversities a r e for? To a cer ta in e xte nt it is difficult t o e ve n de ba t e th e i ss u e wit h th ose w h o fra m e p u blic p olicy, be ca u s e we a r e con d u ct in g a d i a l o gu e o f t h e d e a f . T he r e a r e fu n d a m e n ta l d iffe r en ces in t h e concept w h ich peop le h a v e of a u n i ve r s it y. T h e g ov er n m e n t s e e m s t o t h i n k u n iv er s ities improve th e gr o s s d o m e s t i c p r o d u c t . T h e o u t c om e o f t h i s v i ew i s t h e con vict ion th a t th e m or e p eop le w h o go t o u n iv er s i t y, t h e richer t h e n a t i on will become. T h is n ot ion is so fu n d a me n t a l t o th e gover n m e n t ’s r e ce n t W h it e Pa per in u n i ve r s it ie s t h a t it i s t r e at e d a s if it wer e a n in disp ut ab le re alit y. Th is is in s p it e of t h e fa c t t h a t it i s ba se d on n o evi de n ce w h a t s oe ve r . C r a m m in g u n i ve r s it i es w it h lar g e n u m b e r s o f p e o p le w h o h a v e n o bu rn ing u rge t o be th ere , but th ink th ey m ight a s well go becau se it is ‘free’ (in t h e se n se t h a t t h e l a r ge r p a r t of th e costs is bor ne by t axp aye rs ), will n ot n ecess ar ily in cr e a s e p rodu ctivity. Th is is pa rt icula rly t ru e if th ey ar e t a k in g cours es in wh at th e a ut hor s call ‘soft s ocial scie n ce a n d the p olitically corrup ted a rts ’ (p. xx13). However, even if t h e y w e r e t o s w it ch t omor row t o ‘pr oper ’ cours es in scie n ce or economics, that would not solve all of the problems in ou r u n i v e r s i t i es , b ec a u s e a t r u e u n i v e r s i t y d o e s n ot e x is t t o b oos t GD P . As t h e a u t h o r s s a y , t h e m o s t w e ca n , or s h o u l d , hope for by wa y of a conn ection bet ween aca dem ia a n d econom ic pr odu ctivit y is t h a t t h e for m er wil l n ot act ively u n d er m i n e t h e l a t t er . T h e r e a l p u rp os e of a u n i ve r s it y is ‘th e adva ncem e n t of k n ow le dg e a n d t h e cr e a ti on of vir t u e’ (p. xx 11 ). T h a t sou nd s fain tly r idicu lous now, becau se we ar e emba rra ssed t o t a l k a bou t v ir t u e , b u t t h a t is p a r t of t h e problem. As the a ut hors sa y, in words t ha t sh ould be en gr a v e d over t he port als of acad em e, an d id ea lly in t he h e a r t s o f v i ce -c h a n c e ll or s : F o r universities t o be proper institut ions of learnin g and cultur e, t h e et hos wh ich dom i n a t es t hem mu st be fou nd ed on t he love of wis dom , goodness and bea uty. Unless lar ge number s of people are fa s ci n a t ed by the idea of knowledge for its own sake, the s e a rch for

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m or a l goodness a nd th e pursu it of the bea ut iful, u n i ve r si t ie s ca n never be m o re t h a n a ph ilis ti ne bet ra ya l of t he bes t d re am s of ou r an ces tor s (p . xx3 4).

As long as th e govern men t continues to regard un iversit ies a s ma chines for g en e r a ti n g t h e higher e a r n in g s w h ich will p r o v id e t h e t r e a s u ry w it h m o r e t a x es , w h ich i n t u r n will fund t he governm ent’s vision (i.e. more welfar e service s), w e a r e goin g t o get n owh er e w it h th e b u si n es s of u n i ve r s it y r efor m . T h a t is w h y t h e pr op os a ls w h ich O’Keeffe a n d M a r s la n d p u t for w a r d for cu t t in g th e u m bil ica l cor d of s u b s i d y t h a t con n ect s a ca d e m ia t o t h e s t a t e a r e s o i m p or t a n t . I f un iversities are n ot indepen dent , then ther e is n ot m u ch p oi n t i n h av in g th e m a t a ll . Robert W helan D ep u t y D i re ct or , C i v it a s

P art I The Sou rces of Intellectu al Corruption in B r i t i s h H ig h e r E d u c a t i o n

Intr odu ction T h e pa rlou s cond ition of British higher ed uca tion is a fu nct ion of th e sup pr ession of th e ma rk et

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h e r e i s wi d e a g re em e n t t h a t B r i t ish high er edu cat ion is in a p a r lou s sta te. 1 T h e r e is m u ch les s a gr ee m en t a bou t w h a t i s w r o n g , a n d s t i l l l e s s a s t o w h a t t o d o a b ou t i t . P r o f es s o r K en n e t h M i n o g u e ’s r e c en t e s s a y i l lu s t r a t e s a t lengt h a t h em e h e ar ticulates in t h e v er y firs t pa r a gr a ph , t o t h e e ffe ct t h a t t h e a ca d e m i c life of th e coun tr y ha s coll a p s e d .2 W e w ou l d a gree certain ly that the h elter-skelter expa ns ion of t h e te r t ia r y s ect or in r e ce n t de ca d es h a s a c co m p a n i e d a n d r e fl e ct e d a n i n t e l l e ct u a l cr i s i s . On t h e view tak en in t h is p a p e r, t h e two ce n t r al or ganisa t ion a l ills of our u nive rs ity s ector ar e its excess ive r egu lat ion b y t h e st a t e a n d its un du e de pen den ce on t he pu blic pur se. Some r e a der s m ay s igh a t t his jun ctu re , seein g in t h e s e propositions only the comm onplace gr ou s in g of con se r v a t i v e s . Th e oste ns ible ba na lity is q uickly d issolve d , h o w e ve r , if we r e w or k o u r b a s i c t e r m s . O n inspection, it will be seen t h a t excessive r egu la t ion of higher e du ca t ion by t h e st a t e a n d i t s e xces si ve d ep en de n ce on s t a t e largesse, together reconstitute—tha t is to say th ey r a d ica l ly a lt e r —t h e con d i t ion s of s u p p ly a n d d em a n d . I t is n e ce s sa r y qu ite ofte n, w he n on e consid er s t he pr oblem s of m o de r n socia l a dm in is t r a t ion , t o ext r a ct a n econ om ic cor e from a given mass of con s id er a t ion s a n d e xp r e s s i t a t a h i gh level of a bs t r a cti on . On th is ba si s cou n t er fa ctu a l r efle cti on ca n b e m ou n t e d , som etim es p oint ing t o salu ta ry p ossibili-

1 See for e xam ple, Roger Scru ton ‘The Idea of a Un ivers ity’, T h e S ali sbu ry R eview , vol. 20, no. 1, Autu mn 2001, pp. 4-8. 2 Kennet h Minogue ‘The Collapse of the Academic in Britain’ in Jam es Tooley (ed.), Buckin gham at 25, IEA 2001, p. 86.

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ties of re form . 3 Sa d t o sa y, r a t h er few wr it in gs on ed u ca t ion a l a d m i n is t r a t i on en gage i n t h i s p r o ce s s . T h e a d m i n i s t r a t i ve i m a gi n a ti on t h u s r e m a in s m o r e or less p e r m a n e n t ly tra pped in t he s ta t u s q u o. Public finance cha nges the edu cation al c a lculu s of s c a r c i t y a nd choice a n d t h e com posit ion of t h e curric ulum I n t h is in st a n ce we m a y in fer , coun te rfa ctu a lly, t h a t t h e higher e du ca t ion m a r k e t , thu s const ra ined, will genera te a d iffe r en t ca lcu lu s of s ca r cit y and choice from the one t ha t wou l d em erge in t he pr esen ce of un su bsid ised s up ply a nd d e m a n d . Sp ecifica lly, th e b a si c de cisi on s t o a bs t a in or p a r t icipa te in h igh er ed u cat ion , to con su m e, t o sa ve, t o i n v e s t or n o t in r e l a t ion t o higher e du ca tion, will be altered by t h e p r es en ce of s t a t e re gula tion a n d s t a t e fu n d i n g . So t oo will th e p a t t er n of cur r icu la r pa t h wa ys ch ose n th r ou gh t h e higher ed u ca t ion exp er ien ce b y va r iou s s t u de n t de cisi on m a k e r s . I f t h e y a r e s u b s idised they will mak e different subject ch oice s fr om t h e ones they would ma ke on th e ba sis o f t h e i r o w n res our ces. It is because sta te int erference an d pu blic fu n d s di st or t s u pp ly a n d d em a n d , b eca u s e t h e y lea d t o a s u b-op t im a l a lloca t ion of r es ou r ce s t o h i gh e r edu cat ion , t h a t t h e y a r e , a n d m u s t b e u n d e r s t o o d a s , or g an i sa t ion a l d e fe ct s . T h is d oe s n ot m e a n t h a t as a society w e w i ll n e ce s s a r il y plum p for a free -m a r k et ve rs ion of th e u nive rs ity w or l d , an y m ore t ha n w e will in t h e ca s e of p r im a r y a n d s e con d a r y e d u c a t i o n . I n d e e d , w e n e e d t o r e ca l l a s w e s eek t o em a n cip a t e h igh er ed u ca ti on from it s s t r a it -ja cke t of govern men t reg ula tion an d pu blic mon ey, th at in t he b a ck gr ou n d loom s t h e in t i m a t e ly conn ected a n d even l a r ger i ss u e of p r e -u n i ve r s it y edu cat ion. Th is in its tu rn is s t r a n gled w it h cent ra lisin g b u r ea u cr a cy a n d d e p en d en cy on s t a te fina nces, w it h t h e a d d it i on a l p r ob le m t h a t a l a r ge p a rt of it is s u b je ct t o comp uls ory a tt end an ce, tha t h uge an d u ne xplor ed sou rce of pr odu cer -cap tu re in a ll t h e fr ee s ociet ies . 3 Pr ecisely th is kin d of coun ter factua l evalu at ion an d policy chan ge un de rl ay th e T ha tch er gove rn me nt ’s as ton ish in gly s ucc es sfu l privat isation a ctivities, which have left th e UK with what is today by far th e str ongest economy in Eu rope.

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T h e p u b l i c i s n ot y et r e a d y fo r p r i va t e h i g h er e d u ca tion Clea rly, plu m pin g for a free m a r k et in e d u ca t ion is precisely w h a t w e as a s ociety h ave not don e, eith er at un iver sit y or a t pr im ar y/second ar y level. We h ave ar gua bly on t h e con t r a r y d e ci d ed t o ch erish t h e d e fe ct s of or ga n is a t ion , qu it e overt ly p r efe r r in g su b-opt im ali t y. T h e p u b li c a s a whole a r e pr obab ly not rea dy for pr ivat e high er edu cat ion in p r a ct i ce, even if t h ey p r efer pr iva t e s ch oolin g—a t th e p r im a r y or s e con d a r y levels—in a sp ir a t ion . In th e a bs en ce of r es ea r ch it would be a fair bet th at m ost British un iversity teacher s a n d ad m inis tr at ors r eject p riva tely fina nced h i gh e r ed u ca tion even a s a n a s p i r a t i on . I n h i gh e r e du ca t i on t h e p r efe r e n ce u n i ti n g p r a ct i t ion e r s a n d pu blic seems indeed t o be for m a x im u m enrolments , m or e tha n would occur were fees su bst an tia lly h i gh er a t t h e p oi n t of u s e , u n l es s t h er e w er e a si gn ifica n t cha nge in th e ta x-régim e, one lea ving t axp ayer s w it h sig n ifican tl y h igh er dis pos a ble in come s. W h y is Bri tish edu ca tion pub licly fina nced an d st at edriven? We h a v e sa i d t h a t t h e pu b l ic for t h e most p a r t con cu r s wit h t h e govern men t on pu blic fina nce of higher lear ning. We s h a ll l a t er e xplor e t h e h a b it u a l e le m e n t t h a t p e r m it s t h e per pet ua tion of poli cy e r r or . T h e b a ck gr ou n d a s su m p t ion s d rivin g th e p u bli c fin a n ce a n d s t a t e p r om ot ion of t h e e du ca t ion a l exercise a r e a ls o cr u c i a l . O n e i s t h e i r r e p r e s s ible not ion t ha t t he ma n in Wh iteh all k n o ws b es t , a n ot ion fun ctiona lly fortified by h i s also h a v in g access t o ou r m on e y. We s h o u l d n e v e r fo r g et t h e s h e e r d e l i g h t t h a t s o ci a l is t s h a v e in spen ding other people’s resour ces. British higher edu cat ion pol icy w a s a ls o for l on g d r ive n by a lu di cr ou s over es t im a t ion of t h e pot e n ti a l p e r for m a n ce of t h e com m u n i s t econ om ies . Th is too c on n ected wit h t he Wh iteh all hu bris, com m u n i s m b ei n g t h e s ys t e m ex t r a or d in a r y for t h e fisca l exp loit a t ion a n d i d eologica l bu llyi n g a n d op pr es si on of ever yone ou ts id e t h e n a r r o w nom enklatu ra . T er e n ce Kealey h a s s u c c in c t l y e x p os ed this obsession. The belief d u r in g t h e 1 9 5 0 s a n d 1 9 6 0 s —p r om u lga t ed by T h om a s

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B a logh a n d C.P . Sn ow, a ccep t ed by p olit icia n s s u ch a s A n eu r i n B ev a n a n d H a r ol d W il son , a n d in fl u en ci n g e ve n a distingu ished a ca d em ic econom ist lik e Lionel Robbin s in h is fa m ou s r e p or t 4 —was t ha t th e Soviet Un ion and the oth er socialis t econom ies w ou l d even tu ally, even soon , ou t p e r for m t h e w e st e r n economies. We sh a r e t h e view of Dr Kealey t h a t s u ch a p o s i t io n w a s a l w a y s b iz a r r e l y a b s u r d , but it cemen ted into a solidity, difficult to cha llenge or circumven t, t h e destr uctive notion tha t th e British sta te m ust be pr oactive in m at ter s ed uca tion al. 5 The full benefits of educa tiona l p riva tisat ion wou ld r e q u ir e t h e in c l u si o n of p r i m a r y a n d s e c on d a r y edu ca tion I t m u s t be s a id t h a t p r ivat isa tion of univ er sit ies w ill ma ke full sen se, a nd ha ve its full im pa ct, only w he n it form s p a r t of a gen er a l p r iva t is a t ion of ed u ca t ion. Ana lysis can be m a d e a n d p ol icy p re s cr i pt i on s p r op o s ed , on t h e a s s u m p t i on t h a t th e ea rlie r s ta ges of edu cat ion r em ain u n pr iv at ised , b u t in t h is case t h a t ana lysis a n d those p r es cr ip t ion s will be m u ch m o r e t im id a n d loca l . We a c ce p t t h is lim it a t ion for t h e m om e n t , a n d w ill a ss u m e t h a t th e t ot a l ve n t u r e is n ot in prospect y et . It will n ot be possible to exclude considera t i on of p r im a r y a n d s econ d a r y ed u ca t i on fr om o u r dis cu ss ion , bu t w e will k eep it t o a fun ctiona l min im um . I t is well worth while p r oceed ing w ith un iver sit y p r iv a ti sa t ion , h o we ve r , even w it h t h e rest of t h e e du ca t ion a l s t r u ct u r e left la rge ly as it is . I n t h e ca s e of t h e t er t i a r y s e ct or , a s w e s h a ll s ee , som e of t h e b a si c condit ion s for u n d er t a k in g t h e ta s k a r e a l r e a d y i n p l a ce . It i s p e r h a p s a good pla ce t o b egin the p rivatisa tion of the wh ole system . O u r a im in t his pa per is bot h t o concept ua lise t he circu m sta nces an d ident ify some of t h e s h o r t c om i n g s o f B r i t i s h u n i v e r s i t i es , a n d t h e n ex pl a in h ow we m ight begin to righ t t h e si tu a t ion .

4 Lionel R obbins , Hi gh er E du cati on , HMSO, 1963 5 Ter ence K eale y ‘Back to th e Fu tu re’ in Tooley, Buckin gham at 25, 2001, especially pp. 240-41.

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F i n a n c i a l s t r in g e n ci e s a n d o l d a ca d em i c h i e r a r c h i e s T h e n e w s fr om ou r un iversities seem s t o g et m or e wor r yi n g by t h e d a y. In l a t e M a y 20 0 2 i t wa s r e p or t e d in t h e G u a rd i a n t h a t s o m e 1 ,4 0 0 u n i v e r s it y j ob s w e r e a t r i s k owing t o t h e fall in s t u d e n t n u m b e r s a n d i n a d eq u a t e bu d g et a r y s e t t le m e n t s . A p p l ic a t i on s c on t i n u e d t o r i s e , b u t t h e r e w a s a fa l l i n th e n u m b e r s o f 16 -18 yea r old s i n fu ll-t im e e du ca t ion , t h is p r es a gi n g a l a t e r fa l l i n u n d e r gr a d u a t e n u m b e r s . J obs a n d r es ea r ch we r e t o be cu t a cr oss th e cu r r icula r b oa r d . Th e m edica l an d de nt al w ork a t Qu een Ma ry a nd Wes tfield Colle ge, L ond on, a p p ea r e d t o b e t h r e a t e n e d . Oth er un ivers it ies wh er e s cien ce t ea ch in g or r es ea r ch or m ed ica l tea chin g or r e s ea r c h we r e fa c ed i n 20 0 2 w it h p r u n in g in clu de Bir m in gh a m , Ki n g’s C olle ge, Lon don a n d t h e U n i ve r si ty of M a n ch e s t er In stitu te of Science and Techn ology. M a n y l o w er -r an kin g an d m idd le-ra nk in g un iversities a r e n ow con fron t ed wit h fal ls in th eir r es ea r ch b u d g e t s . T h e N a t ion a l As s ociation of Teachers in Fu rth er a n d H i g h e r E d u ca t ion (N AT F HE) sa ys t he ne wer un iver sities ar e losing ou t ba dly. 6 An ot h er n e w s i t e m i n t h e s a m e p a p e r a r g u e s t h a t s om e t h in g v er y like t h e old b in a r y system is m a k in g it s wa y b a ck . Les s pr est igious un iver sit ies in s o me in s t a n ce s a r e resigned t o think ing of them selves as ‘teachin g-led’. T h e r e seems to be a defin ite p olicy for concen tr at ing r esea rch in m o r e p r e s t i g i ou s i n s t i t u t i o n s . S i r H o w a r d N ewby is reported as ha ving qu est ion ed wh et h er u n ive r si t ies n ot en ga ging in H igher E d u c a t ion F u n d in g C ou n ci l for E n g la n d (H E F C E ) fu n d ed r es ea r ch s h ou ld b e a l l ow e d t o a w a r d P h D s . The cur ve of t r a d it ion a l h i er a r ch y t h u s seems n o w t o poin t rem orselessly upwar d aga in. Oxford, for examp le, seems to h ave been defen din g its elf of la t e b y cr e a t in g it s ve r y ow n a nd very lar ge fun d-raising cultur e. 7 Wr on gly or righ tly, it s e em s ve r y u n l ik e ly in t h e n ea r fu t u r e th a t a n y u n iversities out side th e sele ct few will b e a ble t o im i ta t e this.

6 Guardian , 21 May 2002, pp. 1-2. 7 Guardian , 21 May 2002, pp. 8-9.

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INDEP ENDE NCE OR S TAGNATION ?

I t h a s t o b e sa i d t h a t t h e J a n u a r y 2 00 3 Wh i t e P a p e r confirm s these gen er al s us picions. In s om e r e s p ect s it seek s t o accentua te t h e h i er a r ch y of in st it u t ion s wh ich in evit ab ly exis t s a l re a dy . T h e a ca d em ic h i er a r ch y will be resh aped by t h e a d d it ion of a new 6* r at ing for d epa rt m en ts wit h ‘world class r e se a r ch ’. Scien tific r e s ea r ch is sin gled ou t for esp ecia l em ph as is a n d i t is r eit er a t ed th r ou gh ou t t h e en t ir e docu m e n t th at th er e m us t be a s ym biosis b etw een hig h er educat ion and busin ess. The new s et-up will comprise: (i)

A han dful of élite resear ch un iversities

(ii)

A gr ou p of le a di n g r egi on a l u n ive r si t ies r es ea r ch in g a n d t ea ch i n g

(iii) Som e u nive rs ities concent ra tin g on t ea chin g (iv) S om e for m e r h ig her edu cat ion colleges h a v in g be com e un iver sit ies bu t on ly for un der gra du at e te ach ing (v)

S om e fu r t h e r e du ca t ion college s t ea ch i n g v a ri ou s w o rk -focused tw o-year foun da tion degr ees, in an un inhibited r ecogn it ion th a t th e p r im a r y fu n cti on of ed u ca t ion is econ om ic. 8

B y t h e sum mer of 2003 some of this h ierar chical rear ra nging ha d ta ken more definite sha pe. It is n ow wide ly accepted t h a t som e ‘un ive r si t ies ’ wil l ex is t pu r ely for t e a ch i n g pu rp oses. T his would seem to m ar k a rea l cha nge in t he official Br itish conception of the ‘un ivers ity’. B r i t is h u n i v e r s i t i e s a r e p r i v a t e i n s t i t u t i o n s t h a t a c t l i k e s t a t e in s t it u t i on s T h e r e is n oth ing n ew in th e in h er en tly a m b ig u ou s a n d u n s a t i sfa ct or y st a tu s of ou r u n iver sit ies . It i s s im p l y t h a t t h is now sh ows u p m ore vi vid l y t h a n before becaus e the s ca l e of thei r act ivitie s h a s so e xp a nde d. T h e d ep en de n ce of ou r u n i v e r s it i e s on t h e p u b l i c p u r s e m a t t e r e d m u ch l e s s when th e sca le of t h eir a cti vit ies wa s m u ch sm a lle r . N ow t h a t th e n u m be r of pe opl e e n t er in g h igh er ed u ca t ion h a s increased s o en o r m o u s l y , t h e g o ve r n m e n t - p a y m a s t e r , d e s 8 Th e Fu tu re of H igh er E du cati on , Jan uar y 2003. For point (v) above see especially p. 57.

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per at ely a n d r a t h er fu t ile ly s ee ki n g wa ys to g et va lu e for t h e t a x pa y er s ’ p ou n d , h a s d r a gg ed t h e u n ive r si t ies in t o a d a m a gi n g a n d disp irit ing n e t w or k of b u re a u cr a t i c p r e scr ip t ion . S im on J en ki n s h a s d es cr ibe d t h e r ece n t h is t or y of ou r un iversities a s a ‘T h ir t y Ye a r s W a r ’ b et w ee n t h ems elve s a n d the s tat e. 9 J e n k i n s b el ie ve s t h a t u n t il the m id-1970s B r i t i s h u n i ve r siti es h ad extr aor din ar y au ton omy. Th eir pu blic fu n d in g wa s un -audited. Academic staff had t enu re. T h e syst em wa s, he believe s , t h e w or ld ’s m ost lu xu r iou s h ighe r edu cat ion system , en joying a golden age. Fu nda men t a ll y th e u nive rs ities slid in to t he ir p re sen t, lon g-la st in g d ifficulties when it be ca m e a p p a r e n t , cru cially in t h e 1 9 7 0 s , t h a t G re a t Br it a in h a d been living beyond h er m e a n s. T h e sole g oo d J e n k i n s d e t e c t s a t t h e e n d o f t h i s ‘w a r ’ i s t h a t un iversities a r e m o r e accoun table, w or k ha rder a n d a r e less wa st eful. T h is a n a l ys is is n ot v er y con v in cin g. S p en d t h r ift a n d c a r e l es s govern men ts do not bes t ow r e a l a u t on om y on t h e act ivitie s th ey fina nce—t he y me rely e n cou r a g e t h e in s t it u t ion s supp orted to carr y out th ose a ctivit ies ir res pons ibly. An a lt er n a t ive exp la n a t ion to J en ki n s’s ch a r a cte r is a t ion w ou l d b e t o s a y t h a t n ow , w h en t h e scale of ‘h i gh e r ed u ca t ion ’ h a s grown so large th at even the im men sely richer n a t i on th a t th e T h a t ch er r evol u t ion ef fe ct e d c a n n o t e a s i ly fu n d it publicly, the s tat e, following a long series of p a n i c s , h a s effective ly ca l le d i n it s m a r ke r s, d em a n d in g th a t t h a t w h ich it h as long be en pa ying for it sh ould als o contr ol. Reli a n ce on publ ic f u n d s w a s alwa ys a d a n ge r ou s g am e , a n d t h e con d it ion s t h a t wou l d m a k e pu b li c fi n a n ci n g of e d u ca t i on e v e n v a gu e l y vi a b le h a v e lo n g p a s s ed . 10 9

Simon J enk ins, ‘Lonely pip er p lays on above t he b loody bat tle’, T h e T i m e s H i gh e r E d u ca t io n S u p pl em e n t, 8 March 2002, p. 18.

10 Thes e condition s ar e th at nu mber s in h igher educa tion s hould rem ain mod es t a nd th at th e s yst em it se lf sh oul d s te er clea r of i nt elle ctu al corruption or subversion. The vast present and even la rger pr edicted —and in officialdom’s terms—desirable, en r ol m en t s sp e ak fo r t h e m sel ves . Mor e im por ta nt , cons ide ra ble a re as of hig he r e du cat ion a re ideologically corru pted. Teacher edu cation was for long one such ar ea an d t he te ach in g of soci ology r em ai ns an oth er . Th is cor ru pt ion can itse lf be rega rde d as yet a not her inde x of economic inefficiency.

10

INDEP ENDE NCE OR S TAGNATION ?

Un iversities oug h t t o becom e p ri va te a ga in . In t h is cou n t r y t h ey a r e n ot form ally s t a t e institutions. They a r e on t h e con t r a r y p r i v a t e in st it u ti on s t h at h av e lost th eir i n d ep en d en ce. Dr Kealey locates t h i s los s a s fa r b a ck a s t h e F i r st World W a r .11 L ook i n g b a ck on t h e 1 96 0 s, wh e n t h e s t a t e p rovid ed 9 0 p e r ce n t o f t h e i n c om e o f u n i v e r s i t i es , 12 it i s su re ly p o s s ib l e fo r u s t o s ee t h e i r r e s p on s i b i li t y of t h os e y e a r s a s a k i n d o f b og u s i n d e p en d e n c e . T h e g r a d u a l b u i l d u p of in t er ven t ion s sin ce th en me re ly reflect s t he da wn ing r e a li sa t i on in t he ad m inis tr at ive m ind th at som e re inin g ba ck of resou rces w as going t o prove n ecessa ry. T h e lack of ind e pe n de n ce h a s be com e vivi dl y a pp a r en t of l a t e, a s m o s t un iversities ha ve been ha ra ssed by a te di ou s s ystem of a u d i t in g a n d r e gu l a t ion m o r e n o t ew or t h y a s a s t ron g i r r it a n t t h a n a s a s ou n d a n a l yt i c m e a s u r e of w h a t is ha ppe nin g. P r o fe s s or A la n R y a n o f O x fo r d , a w e l l -k n o w n supp orter of a m o r e m a r k e t -d r iv en a pproach t o higher e du ca t ion , believe s t h a t t h e p re s en t ré gim e is so intolerabl e t h a t n o r a t i on a l p er s on w ou l d wor k in British higher e du ca t ion , wh i ch i s b e s et b y ‘t h e i n c oh e r e n c e a n d st u p i d it y’ of gove r n m en t pol icy a n d the ‘incessan t int erference by m a n a g e r s an d officialdom’. Ryan sees t he a verage u nivers it y teacher a s a n u n d e r p a id dr u dg e, fa ced wit h th e li ke s of Ma rga ret Hodge an d H owar d N ewby. 13 T h e ir ri ta n t i s s o irk som e, in de ed , th a t t h e m ore p re st igiou s u n i v e r s ities , spe ar he ad ed b y th e LS E, d ecided in ea r l y 20 01 t o t h r ow off t h e d is pe n sa t ion of t h e Q u a li ty As s u ra n ce Agency. 14 T h e l a t t er involves, a s m ost u nive rs ity t e a ch e r s will kn ow to th eir cost , both int ru sive i n s p e ct ion a n d t i m e-con s u m in g pr e pa r a t ion . Aca d em i cs fr om v a r iou s ot h er u n i v e r s i t i e s co m e a n d i n s p e c t o n e ’s r e c or d s . T h e 11 Kea ley, ‘Back to th e Fu tu re’ in Tooley, Buckin gham at 25, 2001, p. 235. 12 Niall F ergu son, ‘Dream ing Spir es an d Spee ding Modem s’ in Tooley, Buckin gham at 25, 2001, p. 182. 13 Alan Ryan, ‘Why I think no rat ional person should become an acad emic in Brit ain ’, T H E S , 31 May 2002. 14 Ton y Dick son , ‘UK u ni ver sit ies an d t he st at e: a Fa us ti an ba rg ai n?’, Economic Affairs, vol. 21, no. 3, September 2001, p. 25.

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ex er ci s e dem an ds a high ly pr escrip tive conform ity. 15 T h e on-going p a t t er n of h a ra ssm en t be set tin g our un iver sit y t e a ch i n g is exces sive gover nm en t in te r fe r en ce com b in e d w it h the e n f or c e d p a r s i m o n y t o w h i ch h e l t e r - s kelter expa ns ion i n s t u d e n t n u m b e r s h a s l e d . I n th e e ve n t , b ot h t h e u n i ve r sities them selves and t he st uden ts wh o atten d th em a r e ch a n g in g th e ir b eh a v iou r in t h e light of fina ncia l a n d econ om ic cir cu m st a n ce. B y s u m m er 20 03 Ox for d w a s r eported a s consid er ing an ‘Ivy Le agu e’ st ra teg y of focusin g on p os t -g r ad u a t es , r a t h er th a n u n de r gr a du a t es , a n d of s h ift in g t h e in t ell ect u a l d r ive of th e U n ive r si t y a wa y fr om its c ol l eg i a t e b a s i s an d towards faculty-led a r r a n g e m e n t s . 16 At t h e s a m e ti m e t h e U n it e d Ki n gd om G r a d u a t e Ca r e e rs Su rve y re vea ls r e cor d n u m b e r s of g ra d u a t es wh o p r efe r t h e prospect o f p o s t -g r a d u a t e s t u d y t o em ploym en t. Ove ra ll, h o we ve r , t h e r e a r e a s p ect s of ou r o ve r s t r et ch e d u n i ve r s it y life t h a t a r e e v e n w o r s e t h a n t h e fa ct t h a t u n i ve r s it i es a r e s e r ia l ly h a r a s s e d in t h e i r w or k . H i g h er e d u c a t i on i s ec on o m i c a l ly op a q u e T h e r e is a bove a ll t h e p r oble m of econ om ic op a cit y, for examp le. We d o n ot be lon g t o t h e persu a sion t h a t hold s t h a t t h e purp ose of e du ca t ion is t o creat e e con om ic gr owt h . 17 We t h i n k , more mod est ly, t h a t it would be good if edu cat ion d i d lead t o e con om i c g row t h , or a t l ea s t d id n ot i m p ed e it , provided it fir st se cu r ed it s p h ilos oph ica l p u r p os es in t h e a d va n ce m en t of kn owledge a n d t h e cr ea t ion of virt ue. W h en it c om e s t o econ om i c g row t h , h ow ev er , t h e tr u t h is t h a t 15 Dennis O’Keeffe recalls that a visitation dur ing 2001, at the t hen University of North London, demanded detailed syllabuses and rea ding list s for plan ned cour ses far awa y in th e futu re, a wholly un rea l exercise, ign oring s uch va ria ble feat ur es as th e on-going thinking of individual teachers and th e appearance of new books and novel argumen ts. Who in his or her r ight mind would prep are a booklist for a course not due to be taught for nine months? 16 T h e T im e s H ig h er E d u ca t io n S u p pl em e n t, 20 Ju ne 2003, p. 14. We thin k th e collegiate syst em th e very core of Oxbridge excellence, but finan cial st ra its p rodu ce wish ful th ink ing from th ose th ey afflict. 17 The Wh ite P aper of Jan ua ry 2003 is quit e shot th rough with th is a s s u m pt i on .

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INDEP ENDE NCE OR S TAGNATION ?

because ou r u n iversities are so depen dent on sta te finan ce, th eir overa ll imp act is ha rd to a sse ss. R at he r t ha n p ar ticip a t in g d irect ly i n t h e econ o m ic p r og r es s of t h e la s t 24 year s in th is cou n t r y, a pr ogr es s d r ive n la r gel y by pr iva t is a t ion , u n i versities ha ve pr eferr ed over wh elm ingly t o rely on in di r ect a c ce s s t o t h e w e a l t h cr e a t e d , v ia f is c a l m e a n s . 18 They h a ve t h er eb y m a de it im po ss ib le for a n a s se ss m en t t o be m a d e of t h e ir ow n con t r ib u t ion t o t h a t r en e we d a ffl u ence. In dee d, t he y ha ve r edu ced t he m selve s t o su pp lica n t s t a t u s . U n d er op t im a l con d iti ons one m ight ind eed claim t h a t wh a t wou ld th en be th e m a in econ om ic fu n cti on of universities, na mely s op h is t ica t ed h u m a n ca p it a l for m a t i on , m akes a m a jor con t r ibu t ion t o econom ic d e ve lop m e n t . Given th eir hu ge de pen den ce on pu blic fun din g, howe ver , it is h a r d n ot to se e th eir exp an sion a s m an ifestin g in gr ea t m e a s u r e a p ub lic pre feren ce for edu cat iona l con su m pt ion . T h e cl a im t h a t p u bl ic e xp en d it u r e on h i gh e r ed u ca t ion is ‘investm ent’ is, under presen t circumst an ces, fraud ulent . P u b l i c fi n a n c e a n d t h e s o ci o -e c on o m y o f k n o w l e d g e We m a y d i vi d e a l l econom ic activit y, seen from th e perspect i ve of d e m a n d , i n t o con s u m p t i on , wh i ch i s t h e a c t iv it y pur sued for t he en joymen t it yields now; in v es t m e n t , w h ich is th e a cti vit y en ga ged in n ow for th e a n t i ci pa t e d fu t u r e in com e a n d e n joy m e n t it will yie l d ; a n d w a s t e , w h i ch i s t h e u s in g up of scarce r esou rces wit h o u t ei t h e r o f t h e s e t w o k i n d s of d e m a n d b e i n g fu l fi ll e d . T h e p u b l ic finan cing of edu cat ion in a fr ee societ y is ch a ra cterised by radical reconstitu tion of thes e thr ee econom ic div isions. When production is publicly finan ced 18 Few politicians h ave questioned all th is. It is common t o hear politicians of all stripes talking as if access to universities and hos pit al s we re a k in d of pr es en t w e ca n a wa rd our se lves for s uch economic growth as we a s a na tion achieve. In a genera lly market ised dispensation, universities would, on the contrary, swiftly optimise th eir out put , th eir cont ribu tion t o nat ional intellectual life, by a rat ional response to the pa tter n of scarcity. We believe tha t intellectual and economic optimality would prove to be quite close. So great, however, is the fiscal contribution to tertiar y education made by the stat e in all advanced economies, that the question of what part un ivers ities play in economic de velopme nt is virt ua lly un an swer able.

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t h e r is k s a r e di m in is h e d a n d t h e con su m pt ion m ot iva t ion e n h a n ce d , be ca u se th e con su m er is n ot u si n g h is own r e s o u r c es . By definition, at t he sa me t ime th e investm ent element i n th e ca lcu lu s i s d ep r es se d. W h et h er th e s u bje ct ma tter is soci ology (t e n di n g t o con s u m p t ion ) or a ccou n t a n cy (t e n di n g to i n ves t m en t ), th e fa ct t h a t th e d ecis ion s em pl oy resour ces ra ised from t h i r d p a r t i es, also enh an ces t h e wast e e le m e n t , n e i t h e r c on s u m pt ion n or in ves t m en t ta ki n g p la ce a s efficien tly as th ey wou ld were th e tra nsm ission private. T h is u n de r st a n di n g is pe r h a ps th e m ost im por t a n t on e w it h wh ich th e s ocio-econ om y (a lt er n a t ive Sch u m p et e r ia n vocabu lar y ‘econ om ic sociology’) of kn owledge can fur nis h e du ca t ion a l policy-mak ers. It is a h u g e a n d un explored a r ea of p ot e n ti a l r e se a r ch . H i g h e r e d u c a t i on a n d t h e s t r a n g e a n d econom ics of publ ic fina nce

perv erse

T h e r e a r e too m a n y pe opl e a t u n ive r si t y be ca u se th e p r ice of u n i ve r sit y ed u ca t ion faci n g p ot en t ia l con su m er s i s t oo low. When activities are s ocialised t h e n o r m a l w or k i n g s o f su pp ly a n d d em a n d a r e su bve r t ed . P r ice ce a se s t o r econ cile su pp ly a n d d e m a n d i n t h e c a s e of t h e g oo d s a ff ec t e d . I n s om e ci r cu m s t a n c e s th e dis tin ction b etw een th e tw o is lar gely broken down as t hey ar e i n s t ead effectively in tegra ted . The r ise of a n t in om i a n socia l s cien ce is a good ca se of t h is latt er tr end. Su bsidised sup ply and subsidised d em a n d resu lt in m ore or less the sa me pa mper ed ideologica l c on s u m e r i s m fo r t e a ch e r s ( s u p p li e r s ) a n d s t u d e n t s ( co n s u m e r s ) a l ik e . D e m a n d for t h e an tinomia n cultu re is cosseted a n d c o n s u m e r i s e d a n d g a t h e r e d t o t h e s u p ply pr efer en ces of te a ch er s of li ke pe r su a si on . O n e of t h e m os t pe r su a siv e a n d p er va si ve in di ces of t h e in t ell ect u a l w a y w a r d n e s s i n v olved in all this is th e tend en cy for s t u de n t s a n d t ea ch e r s of s oft s oci a l s ci en ce a n d t h e politica lly cor r u p t e d a r t s t o m a k e gu r u s of s om e of t h e better kn own exp on en t s of t h eir obs essions. There a re no S a r t r e s , F ou ca u lt s, C h om sk ys , Alt h u ss er s, M a r cu se s or D e r ri d a s in p rop er aca dem ic stu dy, su ch a s t hos e social sciences lik e econ om ics, wh ich h a ve r et a in ed th eir in t ell ec-

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t u a l int egrit y. Clea rly on e scar cely need s t o say t ha t gen uin e scientists a nd t echnologists do not put them selves for w a r d as gu ru s. Indeed t he lat ter a re ap par en t only in corru pt ed act iv it ies . Higher e d u ca t ion is qu ite clea rly t oo chea p in th is cou n t r y . T h a t is t h e b a r ga i n st r u ck b e t w ee n gov er n m e n t a n d populace, esp ecially t h e m i d d l e a n d u pp er cla ss es , bot h sides of the ba rgain being misled r a d ica l ly a bou t t h e valu e of t h e ex er cis e. D em a n d i s p r om is cu ou s on th e p a r t of ce r t ai n m e m b e r s of a p u b l ic t h a t i s ge n e r a ll y d i sp os e d t o exp ect educat ion on the chea p, and supp ly is in some a reas of t h e cu r r icu l u m h a n d le d b y a n id eolog ica lly p r om is cu ou s pse ud o-bourge oisie th at pr ivat ises t he act ivity of cu r r icu lum i n n o v a t i on w i t h o u t f in a n c ia l r i s k t o it s e l f, t h e cos t s of it s e rr ors bei n g socia lise d, t h at is b orn by t h e t a xpa yer . N o t o n l y t h e cu r r i c u lu m o f h i g h e r e d u c a t i o n b u t a l s o its p eda gogy a nd assessm ent a re cor ru pt ed T h e w h ole higher ed ucation system is adversely affected. C r it ics u s u a ll y con ce n t r at e on c u r ri cu l a r cor r u p t ion , on s t u d e n t s w h o ch oose sociology ra th er t h a n a ca d em ic hist or y or en gin ee r in g, or oth er s w h o ele ct t o r e a d E n g li sh b u t en d u p s t u dy in g De r r id a r a t h er th a n Sh a ke sp ea r e or Mi lt on . T h is c u r r i cu l a r c or r u p t i on , t h i s i n t e l le ct u a l d i m i n u t i on , i s , i n d e e d , a cr u cia l con s id e r a ti on . It is n o t , h o we ve r , t h e wor s t cor r u pt ion . T h e cor r u p t ion of peda gogy and acad emic a ssess m en t is a n ev en wor se pr obl em , be ca u se it a ffects t h e w h ol e academ ic cur riculum . Thus a longside t h os e h uge n u m b e r s o f ‘g r a d u a t e s ’ w h o h a v e s t u d i ed s u b je ct s of a m os t d u biou s qua lity, goes a relent lessly downward t ren d of s t a n d a r d s , in t h e n a m e of ‘de m ocr a cy’, eve n in su bje cts w h o s e epistem ological robust ness m akes them imm un e to di r ect su bve r si on . T h e a d d i c t io n t o s t a t e -f in a n c e of ed u c a t i o n i s a n a t i o n a l on e F r o m one perspective it should be s a id t h a t we ough t n o t t o seek t o ‘b l a m e ’ t h e u n i v e r s i t i e s fo r w h a t h a s b ee n , however

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a m orp hou sly, t h e ch oice t h a t s oci et y a s a w h ole ha s decided t o ma ke. O n in spe ction, w e a re incli n e d t o r e pe a t th a t ‘n a t ion ’ really mea ns t he m iddle and upp er c la s s e s , s u ch t h a t t h e i d e a o f t h e w h o l e co m m u n i t y , a s m o r e o r l es s add icted t o t h e st a t e-fi n a ncin g of h ig h e r e d u c a t i on i s a ra dica lly m isle a din g on e. I t is n ot clea r wh a t , for b et t er or wor se , t his ad diction p r o v es . It m ight su ggest th at h um an beings ha ve a pra isew or t h y gen ius for a d a p t i n g t o a d v er s i t y. All hu ma n b eings r e qu i r e h a bit u a t ion to t h e in er a di ca ble im pe r a t ive s of econ om ic scarcity. Our edu cational ar ra ngem ents are t o be seen as exe m p l ifying h ab itu at ion t o economic inefficiency. T h e r e a r e la r ger -sca le ve r si on s of cou r se . It is often alleged, for examp le, t h a t t h e in h a b i t a n t s of t h e form er Soviet U n i on ada pted so well to it th at ma ny t o th is da y cling n ost algically t o it s m e m or y , lon g after its demise, a n d even when it s re st ora tion is un th inka ble. Tod a y t h is seems t h e op p os it e of a com m o n se n se a da p t a bi li ty . T h e B ritis h ca s e is ve r y d i ffe r e n t . We be lieve th at our ext r a or d in a r y ge n e r al a ffl u en ce ca n di sg u is e t h e in efficie n cy of s om e p r od u ct ion , e.g. of higher edu cat ion . We a r e h a b i t u a t e d t o a se r vice t h a t is probably widely regarded a s in efficie n t , bu t wh ose a l te r n atives ar e seen as less d esir ab le st ill. Effectively, B r i t i s h ed u cat ion , in clu din g t er ti a ry ed u cat ion , h a s been sucked in t o t h e welfa re st at e, sh ar ing b oth th e pu blic fi n a n ce b i a s a n d t h e id eolog ica l p r es u pp osi t ion s of m ode r n w e lfa r e i d e ol og y . S t a t e i n s t i t u t i o n s , p a r t icu l a rl y i ts ed u ca t ion a l i n s t i t u t i o n s , a n d t h e s t a t e ’s r e s o u r c es , a r e together envisaged by bien-pensant e du cr a t s a s i n s t r u m e n t s of socia l e n gi n ee r in g t h a t m a y i n ci de n t a ll y m a k e t h e cou n t r y m or e p r os p er ou s a n d compe tit ive b u t whose fu n d a m e n ta l p u r p o se is t o ma ke s ociety m ore ‘equ al’. P e r h a p s we s hou ld s ay t he pu blic is par tly persu aded by t h i s . It sh ould be noted th at it is t he p ub lic fin a n cin g of ou r e du ca t ion , not th e su bver sion of its int elle ct u a l l ife in t h e in t er es t of ‘eq u a lit y’, of w h ich t h e p u b l i c, h ow e v er d e fi n e d , a p p r o v e s . C o m m o n s e n s e ob s e r v a t i on s u g g e s t s t h a t t h e pu blic d e t es t s in t e ll ect u a l s u b v e r s i on . T h e p en n y m a y on e d a y d r op t h a t it ca n n o t ge t rid of th e s u bve r si on wit h ou t a l s o t h e r eject ion of t h e fi n an ci a l m od e on w h ich t h a t

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su bver sion d e p e n d s . 19 I n a n y e ve n t , a s a l wa y s wi t h t h e e r r or s of socialis m an d t h e p u b l i c s e c t or , t h e i n n o c e n t , w h o a r e a lm os t a lwa ys in th e m ajor ity, p ay for t he sin s a nd d ep r ed a t ion s o f t h e m i n o r i t y . A s it h a p p e n s , m o st of th ose w h o la bou r in higher ed u ca t i on a r e h on e s t toilers in science or ma th em at ics or en gine er in g or m edicin e e t c., gu ilt les s of t h e k i n d s of a n t in om i a n e r r or s t h at ha ve en ter ed t he wh ole edu cat ion s ys t e m fr om o n e or t w o i d e n t i fi a b l e s ou r c e s . T h e overa ll i n t ellect u a l d iffi cu l t ie s of t h e (e n t ir e ) e d u ca t i on system ha ve bee n ca us ed a bove a ll b y t h e fa n a t ica l n om en klatu ra of t e a ch e r ed u ca t ion a n d s oft s oci a l s cience. Given t h a t th e n ew Wh it e P a pe r pr opos e s com p u ls or y t e a ch e r t r a in i n g for new u n i ve r s it y t ea ch e r s a n d a T ea ch i n g Q u a li ty Aca de m y, 20 one ha s to say th at it is entirely possible tha t u n i ve r s it y tea chin g will soon become less effective, r a t h er t h a n more. T h e M a r x is t s h a v e r e t r e a t ed , b u t n ot t h e p os t m ode rn ist s a n d m ora l r ela ti vist s. Edu ca tion , higher or oth erw ise, is not a pu blic g ood W h a t must a t a l l cost s b e r eject ed , h ow e ve r , is t h e buttress ing of t h e n at ion’s collective p re feren ces, wh ich h ave bu ilt u p o ve r m a n y d e ca d e s —m o r e t h a n h a l f a c e n t u r y n o w i n fact—by fa l se a r gu m e n t a t ion . E d u ca t ion is n ot on e of t h o s e good s wh ose econ om ic logi c is p ecu lia r or d ifficult . In p a r t icu l a r we r eje ct t h e cla im th a t ed u ca t ion , h igh er or otherwise, sh ar es w ith policin g or n a t ion a l de fe n ce t h e ch a r a c t er of a ‘p u b li c g ood ’. O n t h e con t r a ry it is a t h or ough ly pr ivat e good. All t h e socia l good t h a t educat ion does is m ediated int erm ittent ly a n d ind ivid ua lly, n ot collectively. W e mig ht contr as t t his wit h d efence, w he re th e socia l good —t h e p rotection of a given society again st its en emies— is continu ous an d u tterly collective. 19 The m ode, as we sha ll see lat er, is n ot just ‘public fina nce’ but pu blic finan ce in a free s ociety, wit h t he t wo sub -version s, bureaucratic centralism, borrowed from the totalitarian experience, and th e distin ctively freedom -aping su bsi di sed in nov ati on , which has ena bled an un re pr ese nt at ive cli qu e t o ins inu at e it sel f int o th e n at ion’s educa tiona l life at ever y level. 20 Th e Fu tu re of H igh er E du cati on , 2003, p. 20.

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T h e h i g h e r ed u c a t i o n c u r r i c u l u m , ce r t a i n l y i n t h e c a s e o f a r t s a n d s o ci a l s ci en c e , i s n o t a n u n l i m i t e d good An ot h e r ca n d id a t e for ou t r ig h t r e je ct ion i s t h e pr oposit ion t h a t edu cat ion i s a n u n l i m i t e d g oo d a n d t h a t e v e r y b od y s h ou l d h a v e as m uch of it as possible. Th e ide a is cert ain ly n ot bor n ou t in t er m s of all th e a sp ect s of t h e cu r r icu lu m of u n i v e r s i t i es . I t h as long be en clear th at ma ny d egr ees in sociology, fo r e xa m p l e , s u p p ly t h e ir s t u de n t s w it h n ot h in g re m otely r e s e m b l in g cl a r i t y of u n d e r s t a n d i n g a n d m or a l en light en m en t, t ha t is to sa y th at th e lea rn ing in volved in n o w a y p r o m o t e s go od , w h i le m a n y d e gr e e s in o t h e r subject s, for exa m ple E n g li sh , h a v e of l a t e been subjected t o t h e b la n d i s h m e n t s of poli t ica l cor r ectness. Cert ainly one does n ot h a v e t o b e a fu s t y r ea c t ion a r y t o reg ar d t he vas t en rolm e n t i n n ew a r ea s s u ch as wome n’s stu dies an d ‘m edia st u di es ’ wit h a cer t a in su sp icion . A sta nd ar ds q uesti on W h a t i f ou r t h o u gh t s t u r n a w a y fr om cu r r icu l a r choice an d fasten i n st e a d on t h e level of g en e r a l sta nda rds? Some of u s will rem ember the ‘O’ level Gener a l Cer t ifica t e of E du ca t ion . It wa s inten ded f or a b o u t t h e t op 2 5 p e r ce n t of t h e a b il it y ra nge at th e age of 16 . We n ow expect more th an 30 p er ce n t of e a ch y ea r gr ou p of t h e you n g pop u la t ion t o get a b a ch e lor ’s degree . M o r e pe opl e a r e t h u s h eld ca pa ble of g et t in g a B A or BSc t oday t ha n u sed to be t hou ght su ita ble to tak e ‘O’ levels a few decades a g o . B y d e fi n i t i on B A s a n d B S c s m u s t b e e a s i e r (t a k i n g t h e a g e d iffe r en ce s i n to a ccou n t ) t h a n t h e la t t e r . And British officialdom, rem ember , is n ow t h in k in g on Ca lifor n ia n lin es of u p to 50 p e r ce n t of e a ch year gr ou p going i n t o ‘higher e du ca t ion ’. T h e i de a t h a t a n a v er a ge u n ive r si t y ed u ca t ion u n de r su ch a disp en sa tion ha s an y chance of r e a ch i n g a h igh lev el of a ca de m ic r igou r is sim ply m oon s h in e. St anda rds must fall a s we a d m it m or e a n d more stu dents . We t h in k s t ron g la n gu a ge i s ca lle d for . T h e 5 0 p e r c e n t e n r o l m e n t a m b i t i o n s u r e l y c on s t i t u t e s a kin d of collective in sa nit y.

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G o v er n m e n t a n d p u b l i c h a v e collud ed i n t h e m a t t e r o f chea p h igh er ed uca tion U n i ve r s it y t e a ch e r s fu l m i n a t e a b ou t t h e w a y govern men ts h a v e e xp a n d e d t h e n u m b e r of u n d er g ra d u a t es wi th ou t incr ea sin g pari pa ssu t h e r e s our ces a vaila ble. It is qu ite clear, h o we ve r , t h a t t h is di m in u t ion in p e r capita resources is e n d or s e d in pr a cti ce b y t h e u n ive r si t y-or ien t ed pu bli c, si n ce t h a t p u b l i c d o e s n ot w a n t t o pay m ore. This is conven i en t for t h e govern men t, given t h a t , a s Dick son says, lower u n it cost s i n h igh er ed u ca t ion h a ve b ee n th e fir st pl a n k of pol icy for 4 0 y ea r s .21 E v e n s m a ll moves to increas e the p r i va t e cos t s t o p a r t ici pa n t s a lw a ys a r ou s e f u r y i n ce r t ai n s ecti on s o f a p u b l i c t h a t w a n t s t h e s e r v i ce s b u t d o es n ot w a n t t o p a y for t h e m . An d i t sh o u ld b e p oi n t ed ou t t h a t t o w a n t se r vice s b u t n ot wa n t to p a y for t h em is n ot t o w a n t th em ver y s er iou sl y. I n oth er wor ds , t h ou gh we rep e a t th a t th ere is a collusion involving th e public here, it s h ou l d n ot be t h ou g h t of a s a n i n t r a c t a b l e on e , a t l e a s t n o t on t h e p a r t of t h e p op u la ce. T h ey ou gh t to b e p er su a da ble a s t o th e a dv e r s e n a t u r e of t h e si tu a t ion , if it w e r e explained t o t h em pr oper ly. Overa ll, our high er educa tion system is certa inly m a l f u n c t io n a l a n d m a y a c t u a l ly b e d y s fu n c t i on a l Alis on Wolf’s in ter est ing a nd well-re ceived b ook is e s s en tia lly, like ou r p re sen t m onogr ap h , a rejection of the very n ot ion th at lar ge-scale pr odu ction of a nyt hin g ca n be achieved b y ce n t r a l i st f i a t, let a lon e in th e ca se of diffu s e a n d elus ive act ivity like tea chin g a n d le a r n in g .22 I f p r od u ct ion is simple th en th e lower level fun ctiona ries a s k e d t o ach ieve i t m a y d o s o i n som e fa s h ion , if inefficiently. When t h e t a s k s allotted a r e complex a n d h a r d t o m e asu re , e.g. t h e q u a l it y of un ivers it y d egr ee s, t h e e ffect s a r e p er n iciou s. W h en t h e st at e is th e pa yma ste r a nd a gover nin g ideology 21 Ton y Dick son , ‘UK u ni ver sit ies an d t he st at e: F au st ia n b ar ga in ?’, Economic Affairs, vol. 21, no. 3 September 2001, p. 24. 22 Alison Wolf, Does Education Matter? Myths About Ed ucation and Economic Growth, Pengu in, 2002, pp. 246-47.

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of equ alit y is im posed , th e kin d of élit is t gu i d a n ce fr om s u p e r b t e a ch i n g a n d r e s ea r c h in s t i t u t ion s t h a t t h e w h ol e sy st em n ee ds , ca n n ot b e fu l l y a c h i ev e d .23 I n d ee d t h e f in e s t in st it u t ion s come u nder envious assa ult. The c r u d e fact is t h a t if h igh er ed u ca t ion a l in st itu tion s could be t ru ly e q u a l i se d , th en t h e r e w ou l d n ot be a n y excellent ones. Q u it e sim ply, th e m a ss ive exp a n sion of h igh er ed u ca t ion a n d un iver sa lly h i g h s t a n d a r d s a r e m u t u a l l y i n co m p a t i b le. Given t h e p o or o u t p u t of m u c h pr i m a r y a n d s e con d a r y e du ca t ion , m o r e ov e r , t h e o ve r a l l s ys t e m s i m p ly ca n n ot a chieve the ba sic cognitive tasks t ha t m ost pra ctitioner s a n d m o s t of t h e p u b li c w a n t i t t o. I n sum , th e sys tem is ‘m a l fu n ct ion a l ’. T h is sh or t fa ll, h owe ver , is n ot th e w or s t of it. P a u l J o h n son ’s p r op os it i on , m a d e i n r el a t ion to th e Un ited S t a t e s , seems t oday equa lly applicabl e her e.24 E d u c a t ion in t h is cou n t r y , a n d higher ed u c a t i on i n p a r t i cu l a r , i s a t t im es r a d ica l ly d y s f u n c ti on a l . Th is is t o say it w o rk s a g a i n s t p op u la r consensus a s well a s in t ell ect u a l r igour . The recent h i st or y of B r it is h h ig h er e du ca t ion i s i n som e su b ject a r e a s a s or r y t a le of a n t in om ia n ism , r ela t ivis m a n d p olit ica l correctness. We w ou l d a d d t h e rider t h a t sooner or l a t er t h is is inevitably th e tend ency in a free society when edu cat ion is publicly provided. It is education’s careles s , fiscally driven e xp a n s i on t h a t s o ws t he seed s of ban kr up tcy in society. 25 T h e e r r on e o u s a r g u m e n t fr o m e c o n om i c g r o w t h The dysfun ctiona l expansion of higher educat ion has been push ed ev er for w a r d a s t h e in t e r t w in e d d efe ct s of s t a t e r e gu la t i on a n d f u n d i n g h a v e i n t e r a ct e d fu r t h e r w it h p h il os op h ica l er r or s a s t o t h e na tu re an d p ur pose n ot only of higher edu cat ion it se lf, bu t of ed u ca t ion t ou t court . Thes e er r or s a r e com m i t te d b ot h by p r ofe ss ion a l e d u ca t or s a n d by 23 Wolf, Does Edu cation Matter?, 2002. See pa rt icular ly th e brillia nt exposition of chapter s 6-8. 24 Pa ul J ohn son, Modern T imes: A History of the World from th e 1920s to the 1990s, Ph oenix Gia nt , pp. 641-44. 25 David Mar slan d, Seeds of Bankruptcy, Claridge, 1988.

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t h e inter ested pu blic. We repeat t ha t th ese er r or s disfigur e t h e n e w W h it e P a p e r .26 If edu cat ion a s a n act ivity is indeed , a s w e believe, the int ellectu al pur suit of what is tru e or b ea u t ifu l or m or a ll y bind ing, 27 it ma y properly be s a id t h a t t h e wh ole e du ca t ion sy st em is a t pr es en t a dr ift from su ch p u r s u it a n d t h e h igh er ed u ca t ion sy st em egr egi ou s ly s o, a c a s e p ow e r fu lly a r t i c u l a t e d r e ce n t l y by An d r e w O s w a l d .28 Osw ald s im p l y a s s e r t s t h a t u n iver si t ies a r e r es ea r ch ins tit ut ions, ‘p r im a r i ly places for find ing ou t h ow th e wor ld w o r k s ’. T h e y a r e a l so ‘i n t h e t r u t h bu s i n es s ’, ‘i n t h e exce llen ce b u s iness’ a n d ‘in t h e ele ga n ce bu s i n es s ’. Th e y wo r k a t ‘p u r s u in g be a u t y a n d s ym m e t r y ou t of in s t i n c t , n o t b e ca u s e th ey are s ea r ch ing for s omet hin g us eful’. Worst of all, Osw ald fi n ds , i s t h a t t r u t h , excellence, freedom a nd elega n ce a re sim ply n ot w h a t p u blic s ect or p olit icia n s w a n t. S om e er ror s, a dm it te dly , ar e wor se th a n oth er s. L o ts o f peop le wit h r es pon si bil it ies for or con n ect ion s w it h ed u ca t ion a l or g an i sa t ion a n d m a n a ge m en t , do seem to believe t h a t ed u ca t i on is a b ou t cr e a t in g jobs or econom ic grow t h . I n t h is ins tr um en ta l view t he y ar e wr ong, or a t a n y r a t e r a n k in g th e ext rin sic fun ctions of educa tion ab ove its i n tr in s ic pu rp oses. T his reck onin g h a s a t l ea s t s om e m e r it , h o w eve r , a c co r d i n g a s i t d o es , in p a r t a n y w a y , w i t h w h a t v er y lar ge n um ber s of th e pu blic inn ocent ly belie ve, foll ow ing t h e evidence o f t h e i r o w n l i ve s . I t is t h e case t h a t p e op le w it h h igh qu a lifica t ion s a r e m o r e a ffl u en t an d enjoy higher s t a t u s on t h e w h ol e t h a n people with mea gre ones. In other w or d s ther e is a rough functional basis to th eir b e l i e f t h a t edu cat ion is a bou t jobs , a lt h ou g h t h at belief is p hilos oph ically wr ong. 29 26 For exam ple, Th e Fu tu re of H igh er E du cati on a s s u m es t h r ou g h ou t th at edu cation indu ces ‘growth.’ 27 For th e exa min at ion of th ese id eas , see R.S . Pet ers , E t h i cs a n d Ed uca tion , Allen a nd U nwin , 1966; an d J ohn Whit e, Th e Aim s of Ed uca tion R est at ed , Routledge and Ke gan P aul, 1982. 28 Andr ew Oswa ld, ‘A victim of vocabular y: the m ean ing of “univers ity” ha s been deba sed, a nd w ith it t he p lace it self’, T H E S , 31 May 2002. 29 For t he r ecord it m ay be obser ved th at while t he m ore h ighly educa ted m embe rs of society will ben efit finan cially from t heir qu al ifica ti on s, e ven in th e con te xt of a contracting economy, the belief

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The fa r w orse err or of egali ta ria nism T h e r e a r e fa r worse mistakes. O t h e r s w h o m a ke th eir livin g in or close to ‘edu ca t ion ’ t a k e it t h a t m a k i n g s oci et y m or e ‘equ al’ is t h e essen c e o f t h e e d u ca t i on a l t a s k .30 E d u ca t ion is for t h e m sy n on y m ou s wi th a m a n a g er ia l , s o ci a l is t p o li t i cs . Th eir act ivitie s t o th is en d cons tit ut e a kin d of p er m a n e n t a n t in om i a n incubus w ithin t he pr ocess of intellect u a l t r a n s m is s ion , m o ck i n g i t s r i gh t fu l h ie r a r ch i es , d e r idin g its greatest ae st he tic a n d cognit ive a ccomplish m ents. U n f or t u na tely, t h e s u c ce s s of s u c h a c t iv it i e s h a s l on g b e e n a p p a r e n t , in Am er ica a s m u ch a s h er e. I t is n ot too m u ch to ca ll it ‘fa t a l’, s o m a n ifold are its dire out comes. The p rotean e r r or t h is pse ud o-inte llect ion h a s su cce ed ed in gen er alis in g a c r o s s t h e w h ol e r a n ge of e du ca t ion a l in s t it u t ion s a n d ab ove a l l in u n ive r si t ies , ca n be su m m ed u p i n th e on e w or d : relativism . 31 Allan Bloo m w a s r i gh t . W e r e a n e du ca t or fr om on e of t h e free societies , ha ving d i e d 50 yea rs ago, su dd en ly to find him self b a c k fr o m t h e g r a v e a n d i n t h e c om p a n y of m o de r n u n i ve r s it y st ud en ts an d t ea cher s in th e a rt s a nd social s c ie n c e s , wh at he would find most dism aying is th eir ut ter convic t ion in ver y m a n y ca se s t h a t a ll in t ell ect u a l or ae st he tic hier ar chies r elat e only t o a rbitr ar y preferences endorsed by or s er ving th e in t e r es t s of p a r t icu l a r p ow e r groupings, t h a t t h e r e is n ot h i n g better n or worse, in t ell ect u a lly or a est he tica lly, th an an yth ing e lse a nd th at th e sole crim e we m a y comm it in t h is r e ga r d is t o suppose t h a t th er e could be. We c a n n o t d w el l o n t h e i m p li ca t i on s o f t h i s m i st a k e fo r social a n d f a m i l y li fe a n d t h e a u t h o r i t y- r e la t i o n s of s oci et y. au xilia ry to t his em pir ical fact , th at edu cat ion i s a bidd ab le t ool for economic growth, is much less convincing, as we have already ar gued. 30 Th is vi ew t oo dis figu re s t he ne w Wh ite Pa per , th ough it p lay s se cond fiddl e t o th e ‘econom ic’ view. We will fe at ur e t he ‘Access Regu lat or’, whose function will be to stop universities char ging top-up fees unless th ey pur sue ‘egalit ar ian ’ recr uit men t policies, in ou r la ter finan cial d is cu s s io n . 31 Allan B loom, Th e Closing of the Am erican Mind , Si m on a n d S h u st e r , 1988.

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Let u s ju s t s t ick t o h i gh e r e du ca t i on . Th e r e la t i vi st e r r or h a s rep ercu ssion s both on t he recr uit me nt to h ighe r edu cat ion a n d on it s cu r r icu la r em ph a si s a n d com pos it ion . F o r m er l y s ou n d un iver sit ies a re now a ctively en gage d in lower ing th eir e n t r y st a n d a r d s in t h is respect 32 a n d , indeed , t h e w h ol e a p p a r a t u s of p r e -u n i ve r sity e x a m i n a t i o n s a n d se lect ion ha s been pr oces sed a dvis edly t o rem ove or dim ini s h t h e r e g i s tr a t i on of in t ell ect u a lly d is t in gu is h ed pe r forma nce. Th er e is n o su pe ri orit y, t h e m a n tr a ru n s, a n d e ve r yt h in g will be processed to ma ke th is clear or r a t h e r t o obs cu r e th e poss ibility of anyt hin g su per ior m ak ing it self apparent. T h e April 2002 ed it ion of A U T L O O K , th e officia l jou r n a l of the Association of Un iversity Teachers, offers th e read er t w o a r t i c le s r e p r e s e n t i n g a n d a d v oca t in g th e cu r r icu l a r a d va n ce of t h e p r om is cu ou s cu lt of e ga lit a r ia n is m in u n i versities th em selve s: one a ssu re s u s t ha t m ult icult ur ali s m should be a ce n t r al preoccupa tion of un iversities 33 a n d t h e ot h e r t h a t f em i n i s m s h o u l d .34 Let it m erely be s a id t h a t m o s t of t h e wr it in g s i n th e se t w o a r e a s, i n or ou t of t h e e du ca t ion a l a r e n a , se em ver y fa r from th e s ea r ch for t r u t h , b e a u t y or m or a l r e ct it u de. ‘Obs ess iona l’ is t h e ad jective t h a t b e s t f it s t h e m . T h e y a r e a l s o é li t i s t in t h e w or s t s e n s e of t h a t w or d . T h e H a m p s t e a d o b se ss i on s I n t h e e d u c a t i o n a l s p h e r e é li t i s m on c e m e a n t si m pl y t h e p u r s u it of inte llectu al br illi a n ce in sch ools a n d un iversities. We a p p l a u d é l i t i s m i n t h i s sense of t h e w or d . We d et e st t h e new é li ti sm t h a t on ou r u n d er s t a n di n g m e a n s t h e m a n ip u 32 We mea n t ha t h igh per forma nce is effectively dism issed a s not hin g more th an a construct of wealth and power, the different perform an ces of the pu pil from Ma rm adu ke College a nd t he pu pil from Gasworks Lan e Comprehen sive requiring adjust ment accordingly. 33 Gargi Battacha ryya, ‘Sticking together–un iversities and the c om m u n i t y’, AUT LOOK , Issue N o. 221, April, 2002-05-09, pp. 23-24. 34 Gillian Howie, ‘Launch of database, register and website for feminist th eory’, AUT LOOK , Issue N o. 221, April, 2002-05-09, p. 25.

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la t ion of society by a s inis ter socialist age nd a. T he popu lat ion is n ot a s o ci a l is t o n e ; b u t t h e é l it e t h a t p u s h e s t h e ‘e ga l it a r ia n ’ a gen da is. Th e cur re nt pr eoccupa tion wit h f em i n i s m a n d m u l t i cu l t u r a l i s m a n d t h e r e s t of t h e a g e n d a of t h e N o r t h L o n d on i n t e l li ge n t s i a o f H a m p s t e a d a n d High gat e flows fr o m a s e t of s e n t im e n t a l p ol it i ca l m i st a k e s m a d e by t h e s m a ll num bers of people who reach in fluen t ia l pos it ion s in e d u ca t ion a l a d m in i st r a t ion , l oca l an d n a t ion a l . T h e history of the subvers ion involved is a complex on e an d ha s never been fully resear ched o r w r i t t e n u p . Al m o s t ce r t ai n ly it s origin wa s in th e u nive rs ities , esp ecially in s ociology d e p a r t m e n t s a n d u n i ve r s i t y s ch o ol s a n d d e p a r t m e n t s of e du ca t ion . 35 Th e policies a nd pr efere nces of this s u bv er s ion , fixa t ion s of irre spon sible s up ply-led cont rivan ce, corre spon d r em ar ka bly litt le to a nyt hin g in t he obser vab le priorities of the t ax-pa ying pu bli c, wh i ch s h a r e s w it h th e socialis t in tellig en ts ia ve r y l it t l e b e yon d t h e com m on ground of preferr ing pu bli c fin a n ce, a n er r or of h a b i t u a t ion from w h ich t h e pu blic could soon be cu red given good lea de r sh ip . Su ch éli t e s ocia lis t obs es si on s d iffer from t h e i n s t r u m e n t a l m o d e l of ed u c a t i on , w h o s e e x p on e n t s , w e h a v e a l r e a d y s u gg e s t e d , h o w e ve r m i s g u i d e d , c a n a t l e a s t poin t to i t s con si st en cy wi t h th e com m on se n se ou t look of t h e ge n er a l p u bli c. T w o m o d e s of ed u c a t i o n a l fi n a n c e a n d r e g u l a t i on : I. Bur eau cra tic cent ra lism T h e present regu lat ory/orga n i sa t ion a l a n d fina ncia l ré gim e in higher educat ion compr ises two modes, neither of t hem s a t is fa ct or y i n a f r e e s ociety. T h e f ir s t i s bur eaucrat ic centra lism , w h e r e t h e c od i fi ca t i o n of p r od u c t i on i s a t tem pted by incr ea sin gly a m bit iou s a n d i n tr u s iv e act ivity by govern men t or its a pp o in t e d a g e n c ie s . T his m o d e of p r od u ct ion is con s i st e n t wit h th e con t r ols pl a ced on th e w h ole of 35 For th e corr upt ion of sociology see Mar slan d, Seeds of Bankruptcy, 1988. For the contribut ion mediated th rough tea cher education, see Den nis J . O’Keeffe, The Wayward Élite, The Adam Smit h Inst itute, 1990.

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society by t h e t ot a li ta r ia n régimes of t h e last ce n t u r y. In t h e Soviet c a s e t h is i n volv ed a va st pa n opl y of r egu la t ion a n d a l m o s t u n ive r sa l p u bli c fin a n ce a n d s ocialised p r op e r ty. As H a y ek pointed ou t , h o we ve r , s u ch a p a n o pl y of con t r ols a n d int er ven tio n s ca n exi st wit h ou t th e ou t r igh t a boli t ion of p r i va t e p r op er t y a n d w it h ou t u n iver s a l ce n t r al is ed p la n n i n g, provided t h e tax-tak e is l a r ge e n ou g h .36 S u ch w e r e t h e a r r a n g e m e n t s u n d e r N a z i s m a n d f a s ci s m . T h e a n t i -fa s ci st dis posit ion of mode rn Br itis h u nive rs it ie s , a bia s we s ha re a nd only wish it a lso exte n d e d t o com m u n is m , will m a k e ou r com p arison odi ou s t o m a n y wh o t e a ch o r s t u d y in t h e m , bu t t h e fa ct r em a in s t h a t ou r un iver sit y ver si on of e du ca t ion a l bu re au cra tic centra lism is m u ch closer t o t h e Na zi-fascist model of overa l l pol it ics t h a n t o t h e M a r xi a n comm unist one. T h e citize n s t h e m s e l ve s a r e m o st l y in pr iva te em ploy m en t. M a n y own th eir own a ccom m o da t i on . E v en s o, t h e r e i s n ow a n e xt e n si ve a pp a r a t u s of contr ols over ou r u n i ve r sit y life , a s e ls ew h er e in ed u ca t ion , re m in isce n t of t h e cor por a te st a te . At t h e s a m e t im e , h o we ve r , t h e r e a re gleams of eman ci pa t or y light t o be se en in t he fina ncia l pictu re . Pu blic fi n a n ce s h ou l d , i n d e e d , be res e r ve d for pu blic g oo d s . I t m a y be noted, however, tha t wh ile British un iversities are t oo d e pe n de n t o n s t a t e - fi n a n c e , t h e y a r e m u c h l es s s o t h a n is comm only r ea lis ed . J a m es Toole y p oin t s ou t t h a t almost 43 per cent of the fin a n ce of B r i t is h u n i v er s i t i e s d oe s n ot com e from ce n t r a l a n d l oca l gov er n m e n t a n d t h a t s om e B r it is h un iversities p r os p er on n o mor e th an 20 p er cent of the ir fu n d s comin g from govern m en t s our ces, cent ra l an d local. 37 D e sp i t e t h is con s id er a b le in d ep en d e n ce of the s tat e’s r e s o u r c es , s u ch u n i v er s i t ie s r em a i n w it h i n t h e st ifling b u r ea u cr a t ic con s t r a i n t s of t h e higher edu cat ion L e vi a t h a n . I n oth er word s t he st at e de ma nd s t he righ t t o regu lat e in det ail n o t o n ly t h a t w h i ch i t d o e s fi n a n ce , b u t a ls o t h a t w h ich i t d oe s n o t . T h e r e i s a n a n om a l y a l re a dy a pp a r en t 36 F.H . Ha yek, T h e R oa d t o S e r fd o m, London: Routledge, 1944. 37 Ja mes Tooley, ‘The futur e of higher edu cation in the U K: seven str aws in t he w ind’, Economic Affairs, vol. 21, no. 3, September 2001, p. 2.

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her e, on e w h ich th ose wh o su pp or t th e in de pe n de n ce of u niversities migh t well exploit . T h e p r ice n ow dema nded by t h e st a t e in exch a n ge e ven for p a r t ia l p u bli c fi n a n ce is incr eas ingly cen tr al ised con tr ol. Es pecia lly in r e ce n t decades, bu re au cra tic centra lism h a s played a n i n cr e a s in g p a r t in ou r h igher educat ion arr an gem e n t s . We ask, simp ly, on wha t groun ds was it ever t h ou g h t t h a t t h i s w a s a s a t is fa ct or y m od e of p r od u ct ion / re gula tion for a free society? W h a t civilised p r ece de n t exi s ts for its ap plica tion ? Bur ea ucr at ic ce n t r al is m t yp ifi es t h e a n ci en t s la v e s t a t es a n d m od er n t ot a li ta r ia n s oci et ie s. T h e ba ld tru th is tha t bur eau cratic centra lism would not be a viab le mod e of cont rol or fin an ce for a fr ee societ y even if it aspir ed t o t a k e a ccou n t of h u m a n dign it y , w h i ch i t d o e s n ot . II. Su bsid ised inn ova tion T h e ot h e r re gu la t ory m ode in mod er n B rit ish edu cat ion is m o r e novel, m uch mor e in forma l an d sp ont an eous , spe cifically a pr oduct of the p ublicly fina nced learn ing of the free W e st e r n societie s , an d its symbiosis with t he m ar ket econ om y . W e m a y u s e fu l ly n a m e it sub sidised inn ovation . It h a d n o cou n t e r p a r t in th e in t ell ect u a l or ga n is a t ion of t h e t ot a li ta r ia n s o ci e t ie s , w h o s e l e a d in g ca d r e s , com m u n i s t or f a s cis t /N a z i, wou ld h a ve be en de ep ly s u sp icio u s of a n d h o st i le t o i t, t h e y t h emselves h old in g a ll con t r ol of t h e c ir c u l a r s t a s i s t h a t p a s s e d a s i n n o v a t i o n i n t h e i r s oc ie t i e s . T h is is because, super ficially, in its em p hasis on i n d i vi d u a l initiat ive, su bsid ised inn ovat ion resem ble s t h e i n t el le ct u a l pr ocess es of a fr ee s ociet y. T h e h igher edu cat ion c u r r i c u l u m o f B r i t is h s o c ie t y a s w e h a v e experienced it, had origina lly emerged spon ta ne ous ly fr om the in tellectual fermen t of the ninet eenth cent u r y. F i n a n ci a l depend ency on the st ate-pu rse goes ba ck t o t h e 1 9 2 0 s , bu t su bs id is ed in n ova t ion m a de it s a pp ea r a n ce m a i n ly fr om th e 196 0s on wa rd s, a t lea st in G re at Br ita in, when si gn ifica nt nu mber s of people bega n t o a t t en d un ivers it y a n d t h e m od e r n soft s oci a l scien ces, wit h t he ir s t r a n ge m ix t u r e o f s e n t i m e n t a l g u il t a n d e n v y , m a d e t h e i r f ir s t

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im pa ct, i n a B r it a in i n w h i ch th e old liber al/conser vat ive consensus on t e a ch i n g a n d le a r n in g w a s begin nin g t o brea k d ow n . Subsidised in n ova t ion occu r s wh e n t h e ‘e n trepreneur s’ of p ub licly fina nced learn ing begin to innovate on t he b asis of re ad ily a va ila ble pu blic r es our ces. Th e in nova tion is p r i v a t i s e d in t e r m s o f t h e d e c is i on s a n d s t r a t e g ie s of t h os e inn ovat ing, in sim ula tion of genuin e bu sin ess a ctivity, b u t d iffe r s fr om s u ch act ivity in t h a t it is re lat ively risk free, t h e cost s being overwhelmingly socialised. The best exam p le h a s b ee n op e r a t iv e l ow e r down t h e e du ca t i on a l s y s t e m a s a fool’s gold sin ce th e 1960 s: th e child-cen tr ed p rogr essive r evol u t ion . Illiteracy, inn um eracy, ignora nce, juven ile a n d su bse qu en tly ad ult crim ina lity: all t he se h ave flowed from t h is in n ova t ion , ev en if w e ca n n ot calibr at e th e n exu s pr ecisely. S e c on d a r y s c h oo ls h a v e b e e n for ce d t o t r y t o r e m e d y t h e p r i m a r y d e fi ci t a n d t h e l e s s el e va t e d u n i v er s ities t od a y s p en d m u ch of t h eir t im e doin g wh at sh ould h a v e b e e n t a k e n c a r e o f i n t h e s e con d a r y sch ools . E ver yon e pass es t h e bu ck a n d n o on e am on g s t t h e v a r iou s g u il t y par ties p a y s s ig n ifi ca n t ly . T h e cru cial p oint , cert ain ly, is t h a t n o one int ern al to t h e orig in al cam pa ign h as pa id for t h e h a v o c, wh ich is bor n e b y t h e ge n er a l p u bli c a n d a l l t a xpayers. Wit hin p r im a r y a n d s econ d a r y e du ca t ion t h e m a jor cost is born by the d iversion of funds from m ainst ream cu r r icu l u m to t he spe cial n eeds ind us tr y, ‘s p e ci a l n e e d s ’ bein g mos tly on ly an infla te d eu p h em i s m for t h e in a b i li t y t o r e a d . S u ch s p eci a l n eeds spill over from s econda ry s ch ool i n t o t h e un ivers ity, w h ich is obliged t o t e a ch ‘s t u d y skills’ on a large scale. The ostensible process of educat ion degenerat es in to a kin d of rem edia l th era py. P r i m a r y , s ec on d a r y a n d t e r t i a r y co n n ec t i on s We h a v e m os t ly t ried t o eschew discu ssion s of prim ar y an d s econ d a r y e du ca t ion . T h e fact is , however, tha t somet imes it i s n ot p ossib le t o concept ua lise t h e high er s ector qu est ion w it h ou t t h i n k in g of p r ior s e ct or s . J u s t a s t h e f a i lu r e s o f p r im a r y edu cat ion h a v e t r a p pe d m u ch of s econ d a r y e du ca -

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t ion in a pr im ar y post ur e, so th e wea ker un iver sit ies, wit h th eir t a l k of ‘s t u d y sk i ll s’, t o some degr ee concept ua lly an d even ped agogica lly b e lo n g t o s e co n d a r y e du ca t ion . H u m a n var iab ility will always defeat p r ecise divisions, but ther e ough t t o b e a t lea st a r ela t ive ly cle a n a r t icu la t ion between p r im a r y , second ar y an d t ert iar y ed u ca t i on . Th e r e is n ot . T h e r e is a mu dd y an d u ne as y int er pen etr at ion between t h e th ree di vis ion s, re flectin g m a l fu n ct ion s a n d d ys fu n ct i on s i n m a n y i n s t i t u t i on s a t a l l l ev e l s . Neo-Mar xist sociol ogy of edu ca tion Subsidised inn ovat ion is by de fin it ion m a r k e d by p rod u ce r ca p t u r e , t h ou g h on t h e d em a n d s i d e t h i s is h e a v i l y d i s guised by it s en ha ncem en t of int ellectu al c on s u m p t ion. We noted e a r li er h o w d i ffi cu l t s u p pl y a n d d e m a n d a r e t o un ra vel in such circumst an ces. Even m o r e d r a m a t ic i s t h e i ss u e of u n -pena lised e r r or . Cer ta in int ellectu ally u n p r e p o sses sin g ‘s c h ol a r s ’ h a v e p r o v e d ca p a bl e un der t h e condit ion s of s u b s id i s e d in n ova t ion of m is lea di n g a wh ole g en er a t ion of st u de n t s, a n d i n cu r r in g vir t u a lly n o a dv er se pe r son a l r e s u lt s from their false m issionising. A good modern exa m ple of t h e le n ie n cy ex te n de d t o m a s s iv e e r r or s a n d in t ell ect u a l solecism s is t he fat e of th e n eo-Mar xist sociology of e du ca t ion . Th is va cu ou s b yw a y in socia l t h eor y flourished in th e 1970s, fa d e d i n th e la t e r 1 98 0s a n d wa s effectively d ea d by a bou t 19 90 . Ma n y of it s l ea di n g ex pon e n t s dropped it when t h e com m u n i s t world ca m e tu mblin g d ow n , a l th ou g h t h ey ha d m ostly d en ied r eceiving a ny in sp ir a t ion from r ea l commu nist societies. There were e xt r a or d in a r y n u m b er s of book s a n d ar ticles in t h is persu a si on a n d m a n y M A s a n d P h D s w e r e p u r s u e d . C ou n t l e s s h o u r s we r e w a st ed in pu r su it of a p e r s p ective Fran k Mu sgr ove at th e tim e rig h t l y d ism issed as ‘sh oddy’. 38 I t s one-t im e e x p on e n t s h a v e n e ve r for m a l l y r e c a n t e d or ap ologized for all th e m is lea di n g t h ey d id . Wit h ou t a w or d of a p o logy or even explan ation th ey have m erely plunged 38 Fr an k Mu sgrove , S chool an d t he S ocial Ord er, John Wiley, 1979, p. 193.

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i n t o n ew obs es si on s, p ost -m ode r n is m or p olit ica l cor r ect n e s s . M os t e x t r a o r d i n a r y o f a l l is t h e fa ct t h a t m a n y of t h e lea din g light s in th is m ovem en t en ded up wit h u n i ve r s it y chairs. The ch ild -centred di sas ter S u ch u n i ve r s it y stories m a k e up t he luxu ry end of a system int rin sically p r on e to va st mis ta kes . The un ivers ity ver sion h a d been pa ra lle led a nd pr eceded by compa ra ble in nova t ion s i n th e cu r r icu l u m a nd p ed a gog y of p r im a r y a n d s e con d a r y e d u ca t i on . We la c k t h e s pa ce t o give m u ch t r e at m e n t to t h e d ir e e ffect s, fir st of chi ld -cen t r ed ed u ca t ion , w it h its rejection of st ron g di scip lin e, its ‘l ook -a n d -s a y’ rea din g, i ts a ba n d on m e n t of ar it h m et ica l t a ble s, t h e d is a s tr ou s a ffl a tu s then being followed up su bseq ue nt ly at higher levels b y th e coll a ps e of t h e cla ss ica l ca n on of l it e r at u r e a n d a vast exp los ion of a n t in om i a n socia l science. S u ch , h ow ev er , h a s b e en t h e s t or y of s oft fu n d i n g t h a t h a s ch a r a c t er i se d th e la s t 40 yea r s of B r it is h st a t e e du ca t ion . S u ch i s t h e le ga cy of su bs id is ed in n ova t ion , a s i t n ow int er tw ine s its elf w it h bu re au cra tic centra lism, e n cod in g it s prer ogatives in legislation a nd pr actice. We m a i n t a i n f i r s t , t h a t m o s t m i s t a k e s of t h is k in d w ou ld n ot h a v e h a p p e n e d o n t h e b a s i s of spon ta ne ous pa re nt al or s t u de n t dema nd, an d secon dl y t h a t th ey con st it u t e coll ect iv e ly an int ellectu al d isa st er for w hich th ose r esp ons ible w e r e n ot h e ld t o a ccou n t wh en it h ap pen ed a nd ne ver will be. In a free s oci et y t h e lax pr ovis ion of pu blic monies seem s bou n d t o is su e in s u ch ca la m it i e s . Pr ivat e fina ncin g of edu cat ion will n ot rem ove t h e h u m a n p r op e n s it y t o err or; it w ill, h owe ver , ch eck a n d d isci pl in e s u ch er r or in som e degree. Th e t a sk of r ev er si n g d eca de s of e r r or is a d a u n t i ng on e a n d only p r i va t e fina nce s ta nd s a rea l ch a n ce of m ovin g t h i n g s t h e o p p o s it e w a y fr o m t h e m i s t a k e s .

P art II A Purging of Confusions, On a Supply and D e m a n d B a s i s : Wh a t ? Wh o ? H o w M a n y ? Wh o P a y s ? a n d Wh y ?

T

h e r e i s con fu s ion a b ou t w h a t i n te ll ect u a l w or k ou r un iver sit ies s h o u l d d o . T h e r e i s c on f u s i on o v e r w h o s h ou l d st ud y in th em , wh a t pr opor t ion of th e p opu la t ion s h ou l d a t t en d t h e m , a n d , cr u ci a ll y, h ow t h a t a t t en d a n ce s h ou l d be p a i d for . T h e r e is above a l l t h e grossest m u d d l e a s t o how u nive rs it ies sh ou ld be m a de r es pon si ble to t h e p op u la t ion s they ser ve. In our view t he se qu est ions sh ould a l l be decid ed b y th e free pla y of sup ply a nd dem an d, in a ‘fr ee enterpr ise cu r r icu lu m ’. S u ch a context will n ot righ t a ll i l ls . Ala s, t h e r igh t in g of a ll il ls is on ly a u t op ia n f a n t a s y . P r i va t e fin a n cin g of high e r l ea r n i n g w ou l d , h o we ve r , m a k e a ver y s ign ifica n t con t r ibu t ion to r ect ifyin g ou r pr es en t wrongs. W h a t w i l l c o n s t i t u t e a u n i v e r s i t y u n d er l o n g-t e r m m a r k e t is a t i on ? We do not rea lly k n o w, t h ou g h w e b e li ev e t h a t m a r k e t s w ou l d w in n ow ou t m u ch of t h e n on s en s e of t h e pr e se n t a r r a n g e m e n t s an d m ak e th e u nd er lying a nd ine vita ble h i er a r ch y of exce lle n ce t o w h ich un iversities a r e ne cessa ril y subject mor e tr an spa re nt . The ir d ifferen tia l p r icin g a lon e w ou l d h a ve th is we lcom e r e s u lt . If t h e for m er pol yt ech n ics wished t o con t in u e t o consider t h em selves universities, t h en good . A pr iva t ely fina nced system of colleges w ou l d be m u ch l e s s t ol er a n t of t h e a p p a ll in g ly low st a n d a r ds of t h e ou t p u t from secon d a r y sch ools a n d beh ind these of p r im a r y sch ools. Even so, some u nive r s ities would spe cialise in im pr oving s t u d e n t s w h o a r e not up to scr at ch. Wis e lea der sh ip i n th e weaker in st it u t ion s w ou ld se ek e xte rn al e xam ini n g conn ect ion s et c. wit h th e b et t er u n ive r si t ies , in a n effor t t o i mpr ove t h e ir ou t p u t . R ea l success w ou l d r e qu i r e a n a ccom p a nyin g pol icy of b et t er cu r r i cu l u m a n d t ea ch i n g i n p r im a r y a n d s econ d a r y s ch ools. W e re t her e to be dram atic impr ovem e n t in lit er a cy a n d n u m e r a cy , t h e s e wo u ld s oo n m a k e t h eir effect s a pp a r en t in h igh er ed u ca t ion too. 31

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Wha t w ork shou ld our u niver sities d o? T h e old chestn ut here is wh ether institu tions should be t e a ch i n g i n s t i t u t i o n s or r e s e a r ch ins tit ut ions . Sir Ala n P ea cock r e m i n d s u s t h a t C a r d i n a l N e w m a n b el ie ve d t h a t un iversities should t each, an d resea rch sh ould be confined t o s p e ci a l is t a c a d e m i e s .39 P r ofe ss or O sw a ld h a s c o m e d o w n u n a m b i g u o u s ly i n fa v ou r of r e se a r ch . 40 We sa y: ‘L et t h e ma rket decide’. We n o t e t h a t in ou r own t e a ch i n g careers we h a v e fou n d t h a t t h e s t u d e n t s li k ed ou r h a v i n g w r it t en r e s ea r ch a r t icle s a n d b ooks . U n de r fre e m a r ke t con di t ion s s om e in s t i t u t i on s w o u l d b e j u s t t e a c h i n g , o t h e r s j u s t r e se a r ch a n d ot h e r s b ot h . On t h e i ss u e of cu r r icu l u m ou r con t en t ion is t h a t m a r k et s w ou l d ha ve pr otect ed m inor ity in ter est s lik e t h e cla ss ics better t h a n a socialist , ‘e ga l it a r ia n ’ system has. M a r k e t s ca n a c com m o d a t e an infin ite s et of poss ibilitie s. Ma rk ets will bot h u p h old t im e-pr oven ca non s a nd inn ovat e cea seles sly on t h e in t ell ect u a l fr o n t . I n fe r io r d e g r e e s w il l ge t w innowed ou t or at very leas t pu rchas ed for th e in fe r ior p r od u ct s t h ey ar e. M a n y pr ofes si on a l colle ges wou ld evol ve i n con di t ion s of pr ivat e fina ncin g, an d u niver sitie s pr oper migh t w e ll d u ck ou t of m u ch of t h e p r e se n t t r a in i n g for t h e p r o fe s sion s. An d a good th in g t oo. Who sh ould go to u niv ersit y? T h e an swer is a nyon e w h o i s g ood e n ou g h a n d w a n t s t o en ough . M a r kets would ha nd le th is comb ina tion ra tion ally t oo, if only governm ents would bu t t ou t a n d st op u s in g un iversities a s if t h ey w er e a wea pon of th e cla ss wa r. Both th e au th ors are of w o r k i n g -c la s s b a ck g r ou n d ; b ot h w e n t t o u n i ve r s it y in th e supp osedly benighted 1 9 5 0 s an d neith er fou n d a n y h os t il it y t o children from t h e work ing cla ss. T his w a s s o in t h e p r e -R o bbin s d a ys a n d t h e r e is e ve r y r e a s on t o s u p p o s e t h a t a m a r k et d r iv en s y s t e m will m an age its h u m a n in t a ke eve n be t t er , m a r ke t s b ein g fu n cti on a lly 39 Sir Ala n P eacock, ‘How neces sar y ar e un ivers ities ?’, Economic Affairs, vol. 21, no. 3, September 2001, p. 7. 40 Oswa ld, ‘A victim of vocabu lar y’, T H E S , 2002.

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in d iffe r en t to th e ra ce, sex, class, r eligion a nd sexu al pr efer en ces of in div idu a ls. How m an y peop le w ould go to u niv ersit y? Again we do not rea lly kn ow . I t m i gh t b e fe w er t h a n a t p r es en t as t hose who go today only because m ost of t h e cost of th e e xp er ien ce is ba se d on p u b l i c f in a n c e d r op a w a y . O n t h e ot h er h a n d, i f th er e w er e p r iva t is a t ion of ed u ca t ion gen era lly, t h e ou t p u t of t h e s ch ools m ight imp rove r a d ica l ly a n d mor e childr en would become in tellect ua lly enga ged t h a n a t p r e s e n t . Mor e p eop le w ou ld a ls o pr oba bly en joy work ing in un iversities if the p resen t nosey-parker b u r ea u cr a cy of spying an d enforcement wer e scrapped an d repla ced by a properly corrective compet itive discipline. T h e new W h i t e Pa per sim ply confir m s, wit hin th e gover nin g a s s u m p t ion s of t h e presen t , t h e govern men t’s de cisi on t o get s om e 5 0 pe r ce n t of fu t u r e coh o r t s i n t o t er t ia r y ed u ca t ion . T h e r e is a good de al of boa st in g a bou t Br it is h in t ell ect u a l pre-eminen ce, e s p e cia lly i n scie n ce, w it h ou r be in g s econ d only t o t h e USA, t h ou g h n o di scu ss ion of t h e e xt e n t t o w h ich t h is br illi a n t a ch iev em en t r es t s on éli t e u n ive r si t ies , or on p r i va t e p r i m a r y a n d s e c on d a r y e d u c a t i on , a n d on excellent g r am m a r sch ools w h ich h a v e been b r ou gh t for t h e most p a rt t o u n t i m e l y d e a t h s . 41 M u ch of th e in t ell ect u a l br illi a n ce of B r i t is h civil is a t ion h a s r es t ed on pr iva t e e du ca t ion a l e x p e n d i t u r e s . T o s ecu r e su ch fu t u r e p er f or m a n c e w i ll r e qu i r e a n ew exp a n si on in th e p r iva t e e lem en t in ou r educat ional system . W h o w i l l p a y fo r u n iv e r si t y e d u c a t i on ? Most ly citizens will pay for th eir children or lat e sta rter s will p a y for t h e m s e l ve s . S t u d e n t s a s a p r e s s u r e g r ou p a r e ve r y a n x i o u s a l w a y s t h a t o t h e r p e o p le s h ould p a y for th em . It will be n ecessa ry t o e d u ca t e t h e pu blic in s om e ba sic fa ct s 41 The White Paper takes t he expansion in num bers for granted, thr oughout, a nd on th e two false criteria of economic growth and equality. At no point, however, does Th e Fu tu re of H igh er E du cati on engage in any proper discussion of the propriety of this giganticism.

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of fina ncial life, or t h i s r e fl e x d e p e n d e n cy cu l t u r e w i ll d r a g on . F in a n cia l in st it u t ion s w ill e volv e e ver su pe r ior te ch niques for len din g for aca dem ic p u r p ose s. T h e la bou r ma rket wi ll e vol ve t o a llow m or e of t h e Am er ican -style w or k in g o n e ’s w a y thr ough college. Un iversities will themselves e v ol v e w a y s of e m p l o yi n g t h e i r ow n s t u d e n t s , p e r h a p s in p a r t ia l lieu of fe es , for e xa m p le . P a r t -t im e st u dy will con t i n u e t o evolve. T h er e m a y a ls o be r a pi d e volu t ion in d is t a n ce l ea r n in g a n d com p u t e r ised l ea r n in g via de vel op m e n t s in in for m a t i on t e c h n o lo gy . S u c h t r e n d s a r e a l r e a d y well un derwa y. Lines of comm un ication between t h o s e w a n t i ng t o sell t he ir k nowled ge an d t hose wa nt ing t o p u r c h a s e t h a t k n o w l e d g e , w il l b ecome im men sely clearer an d more sen sitive. Why w ill p eople g o to un iversi ty? We do n ot k now if a r e n a i s s a n c e o f l e a r n i n g i s a p os s ib il it y for t h e h u m a n r a ce toda y, so corru pted a r e bil lion s of p e op le in t h e free societ ies , id eolog ica lly. Th is is m ost ly b eca u se of ou r cor r u p t e d e d u c a t i on a l s y s t e m s . B u t f or s u c h a r e n a i s san ce, pr ivat isa tion of the in st itu tion s is a t t h e ve r y l ea s t a sine q u a n on . For un iver sit ies t o be pr oper in s t i t u t i o n s of l ea r n in g a n d cu l tu r e , t h e e t h o s t h a t d o m i n a t e s t h e m m u s t b e fou n ded on t he love of wisd om, goodne ss a nd bea ut y. U n l e s s la r ge n u m be r s of people are fascina ted by th e idea of knowledge for its own sak e, t h e s e a r ch for m or a l good n ess a n d th e p u r su it of th e b ea u t ifu l, u n ive r si t ies ca n n e ve r be m or e t h a n a ph ilis t in e b et r a ya l of t h e b es t dr ea m s of ou r a n c es t ors. It h a s proved t o be s oci a li st , ideologically skewed higher edu cat ion t ha t is ph ilist ine an d a nt i-int ellectu al. O n ly a m a r k et -ba se d s ys t em cou ld fu n ct ion po we r fu lly en ough t o s t a r t t o rev er se t he int ellectu al d ecay t ha t s et in ever y wh e r e in t h e free world in t h e last 30 or 40 y ea r s of t h e t w e n t ie t h cent ur y. In th e Br itis h ca se, cer ta inly in t h e l a s t th ree d e ca d e s , t h i s deca y wa s in st r ik in g op pos it ion to t h e econom ic r e n ew a l t h a t also, ups a n d d ow n s a llow ed for, t ook place.

P art III O p t io n s f o r P r i v a ti s a t i o n

The p riva tisa tion of un iversi ties ad m its of a nu m ber o f o p t i on s

W

h a t is n ot often sa id a bout hig her edu cat ion fi n a n ce is t h a t the bin d we ha ve allowed ourselves to get in is r e a ll y absu rd, because so un neces sa ry. J a m e s Tooley poin t s ou t t h a t wh ile in po or cou n t r ie s t h e s t a t e ca n n ot fu n d u n i ve r s it i es , t h e p r iv a t e s ect or ca n a n d d o es fi ll t h e v oi d .42 T h is s u g g e s t s t h a t t h e p r e j u d i ce a g a i n s t t h e p r i va t e s ect or in a r i c h c ou n t r y l ik e B r i t a i n h a s n e v e r b e e n ot h e r th a n a l u xu r y er r or . We w e r e r ich en ough t o a fford pu blic fina ncin g of h i g h e r e d u c a t i o n w h e n n u m b e r s w e r e s m a l l ; t h e r e w a s never a pos it ive ca se for t h is, h owev er , a n d w it h p r es en t a n d pr ojected n um ber s st at e pr ovision is n ow me rely a n imp ossibilit y. M o s t un iver sit ies a re th er efore be ing d ra gged t oda y in some res pects in t he dir ection of pr ivat e fi n a n ce simply by p r e ss u r e of event s. U nive rs ities un willin g or u n a b l e t o follow an y of the pr ocedu re s we d is c u s s b elow will find th emselves in t ole r a bl y t ied t o s o m e t h i n g l ik e th e pr e se n t p a t t e r n o f r e s t r i c t io n s , t h e i r c on f i n e m e n t a m o r e or l e s s m e ch a n i s t ic r es u lt of exce ss ive r eli a n ce on core fu n d in g by t h e s t at e. T h e s a m e effect will re su lt, bu t in mor e gen er alis ed f or m , i f t h e r e a r e n o t r a p i d a n d p r o f ou n d s h i ft s i n gov er n m e n t u n de r st a n di n g a n d p olicy. A n d i f th e id ea of f r ee d om a n d a u t on om y sh ou l d b e come r e-est ab lish ed, if m a n y u n i v e r s it i e s d o s u ccee d i n r ea ss er t in g t h eir fre ed om a n d au tonomy, it will be d ifficu lt for p u bli cly fin a n ced i n s t i t u t i o n s , t h o s e w h ic h h a v e fa i l ed t o dr aw sign ificant ly on p r iv a te sou r ce s of fu n din g , t o m a i n ta i n th e fi ct ion t h a t th ey belong to the sam e in t e llect u a l ge n u s a s i n st it u t ion s t h a t h a v e s u cce ss fu l ly m a de t h e t r a n s it ion b a ck t o p r iv a cy a n d i n d e p e n d en ce. It mu st be as serted overall, however, t h a t w h il e con di t ion s for r efor m look good , t h e cou n t r y a n d its high er e d u c a t i on s y s t e m c a n n o t t r u l y be s e e n a s r e a d y a n d pr e pa r ed for s u ch r e for m .

42 J am es Tooley, R eclaim in g Ed uca tion , Cassell, 2000, pp. 65-67.

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W it h m a t t e r s of p ol icy , a s N or m a n B a r r y p o in t s o u t , w e need to g r a sp th e e xt en t to w h ich a m is s i s a s g ood a s a mile. Since the 1980 s govern men ts h a v e gr a s p e d i n a c r u d e sense h ow im por t a n t u n iversities a r e t o econom ic life. W h at th ey h a v e n o t u n d e r s t o o d is h o w to conceptu alise th is, let a lon e how to chart it. We now find our h igher ed u ca t ion entr app ed in a v a st regu latory bur eau cracy tha t ha ra sses i n s t it u t ion s wit h ou t r em ot ely en cou r a gin g t h eir r a t ion a l econom ic b eh a v iou r . 43 In a n y ca s e , s u cce s si ve gov er n m e n t s h a v e clung obstinat ely to a num ber of fa n t a sy -be lie fs t h a t today ar e quite incredible. Am on g t h e most notable of these is t h e fantasy, sha red by govern men t a n d m u ch of t h e popu lace a like, t ha t t he re is s om e t h in g i n t r in s ically a dm ira ble a nd wort hw hile , an d in a d d i t ion ben efici a l t o t h e w h ol e society, a b ou t t h e long-ter m expa ns ion of high er edu cat ion. As long as su ccessive govern men ts an d elect ora tes ar e give n t o s u ch w is h fu l e r r or , it is all the m o r e imp era tive t ha t u niver sity p olicym a k e r s seek sources of fi n a n ce ot h e r t h a n t h e p ock e t s of t h e ha rd-pressed ta xp a yer . It is n ot clea r th a t m ost wil l look h a r d en ou g h . I n the even t th ere a r e ma ny d ifferen t opt ions we could follow . Th e m os t im p or t a n t pol icy , t h ou g h , i s a g en e r a l s t r a tegy r a t h er th a n a sp ecific m ea su r e, a pol icy for a g en e r a l r ed u cti on in th e le vel of t a x a t ion, esp ecially t axa t ion on w e a lt h a n d in com e, a pol icy h a v in g m a n y fa v ou r a b le con n ot a t ion s in ad dition to its promise of impr ovements t o u n iv er s i t y fin a n ce a n d m a n a gem en t . As a sp ecific b a ck gr ou n d req uir em en t for t he pr iva t i s a t ion of a l l edu cat ion in g en e r a l a n d o f h igher edu cat ion in p a r t icu l a r , h o we ve r , t h is m e a s u r e dwa rfs in to in sign ifican ce all oth er a lter na tive p o li ci e s . A gener al poli cy for ta x-reduct ion T h e pur e a n d honest in h e a r t , w h o m a y n ot be a s n u m e r ou s a s t h e y ou g h t t o b e , w i ll ce l eb r a t e t h e p a r t played by lower i n com e t a x , a n d l ow e r cor p or a t i on t a x , i n t h e r eg en e r a t i on 43 Norm an Bar ry, ‘Privat ising U niver sity E duca tion’ in Tooley, Buckin gham at 25, 2001, pp. 211-27.

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of t h e British econ om y in t h e 1980s a n d 1990s, a process t h e n e ce s sa r y r e for m s for w h i ch t h e L a b ou r P a r t y of t h e t im e fought all the wa y, though it loves to bask t oday i n th e Th a tch er in h er it a n ce a s if it wer e it s ow n cre a ti on. T h a t dist ingu ish e d s ch o la r S i r Gr a h a m H i ll s t h i n k s t ha t a fis ca l p olic y of s t a t e r e t re n ch m e n t t od a y, on e spe cifically a im e d at pr ivat ely based r egenera tion of the s o-called ‘pu blic se r vice s’, wou ld n ot h a v e a ch a n ce of w or k in g in t h is cou n t r y .44 We d o not a t a ll see why an d indeed we disagree p r o fo u n d l y w it h h i m . O n t h e con t r a ry , a clea r pol icy for a r e d u ction i n w h a t r e m a i n p e n a l le v e ls o f t a x a t i o n i s a necessary pr elu d e for t h e reinv igoration of edu cation in this coun try. It s ot h er n a m e is th e vi gor ou s p r u n in g of t h e grotesque b u r e a u cr a c ie s t ha t h a v e b a t te n ed on t o ou r edu cat ion sy st em in r ece n t de ca de s, s in ce t h e p r u n in g of ot ios e b u r e a u c r a c y i s la r g e l y t h e s am e t h in g a s a r ed u cti on in taxa tion, it not being possible to achieve th e l a t t er w it h ou t ca r r y in g ou t t h e for m e r . S u ch a r e d u ct i on i n ge n e r a l t a xat ion, t o be su ccessful, w ou l d n ee d t o be com pr eh en si ve a n d a im ed a s fa r a s poss ible a t a f i s ca l r e s t r u c t u r i n g on t o c on s u m p t i o n . T h e ha rdn osed a im of t h e pol icy wou ld be to r ed u ce t h e s h a r e of t h e n a tional wealt h going to governm ent, an d to alter the com p os it i on o f t h e s h a r e th e gover nm en t r eta ine d, m oving its s ou r ce a w a y from direct t o in di r ect t a xa t ion . It is i n d irect t a xa t ion tha t sh ould carry th e burd en of governmen t fina nce as fa r a s pos s ib le . I n com e s m u s t be fr e ed a t s ou r ce t o in cr ea se t h e r a n ge of t h eir di scr et ion . P o v e r t y i n a r i c h c o u n t r y su c h a s B r it a i n i s l i k e t h e p u b l i c f in a n c e of h ig h e r e d u c a t i o n , a r e d u n d a n t c o n st r u c t o f f a l se r ea s o n i n g T h is would hu rt th e poor, bu t on ly t e m p or a r ily, since by discou ra ging pover ty, it would als o ra pid ly dim inis h t he ir n u m b e r s . Th e re lat ivist s a re fond of tellin g us th at int elligen ce a n d e v e n w or k s o f m a n i fe s t genius r educe in th e end 44 Sir Gr ah am Hi lls, ‘Wh o Own s t he Un iver sit ies ? Th e Ba tt le for University In dependence an d against the Depen dency Culture’, Economic Affairs, vol. 21, no. 3, September 2001, p. 15.

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t o c on s t r u c t s of p o we r a n d p rivileg e. As a gen er al ca se, t his is non sen se. It does a pp ly ver y pr ecisely, h owev er , to p ov er t y in t h e m o de r n a ffl u en t economies . Poverty is indee d a con s t r u ct of s en t im e n t a l a n d p a tr on i si n g fol ly . An y k in d of m a s s pov er t y s h ou l d h a v e b ee n r em a i n de r ed lon g a go. Da vid F r u m r i g h t ly s u ggest ed in a fa m ous ar ticle in Comm entary a few y ea rs ago t ha t t he tr illions of public dolla rs swir ling a rou nd th e U S econom y wer e fina ncin g m o s t of Am e r ica ’s n on s en s e, a n d w e believe th at pover ty is a notable ca se in p oi n t .45 British nonsense is n ot likely to be obeyin g differen t la ws. All t axa tion on in come a nd pr ofits a n d p r o p e r t y s h o u ld b e d r a s t i c a l ly cu r t a i l ed , a n d t h e s t a t e s h ou ld be se ek in g t o pl a y a sm a lle r pa r t in ou r econ om ic destinies. T h e logic could ha rdly be s impler. If citizens h a ve larger disposable incomes because of tax-redu ctions, th ey will h a v e m o r e t o s p e n d o n p r i va t e e d u cation or wh atever else they pr ioritise. M or e ov er , su ch a policy i s l i k e ly in itself to create a g r o w t h in rea l and disposable incomes. Nor, it should be a d d e d , d oe s t h e p r e s en t p o licy/hab it of pu blicly fina ncin g t h e bulk of higher edu cation resu lt in significan t nu mber s of t h e p oor g et t in g to u niver sity in th is coun tr y. 46 U n d e r a ré gim e of priva te fu nd ing, it mig ht ind e e d be deemed n e ce s sa r y for t h e s t a t e t o s u p pl y s om e of t h e wh er e w it h a l for brigh t s t u d e n t s f r om v e r y p oo r b a ck g r o u n d s t o g et i n t o higher ed u ca t ion . Th e p r es en t di sp en sa t ion is f or t h e m o s t p a r t me rely on e of chu rn ing over mid dle-class mon ey as high ly taxed m iddle-cl a s s pe opl e a r e gi ven cost ly t u it ion an d sta te su pported loan s at the p ublic expense. T h e r e i s al s o a m ost r egr ett ab ly re gre ssive elem en t in p r es en t fisca l a r r a n gem en t s, w h ich l e a v e s t h e p oo r e s t g r ou p s , whose children do not go to college, con t r ib u t in g t o t h e b et t e r -off e le m e n t in t h e p o p u l a t i on t h a t s u p p l i es m o s t of t h e student s. P r i va t e fi n a n ce w ou l d rem ove t h is a n om a l y. Sim ult an eous ly, a s h i ft t o in d i r ect t a xa t ion wou ld bot h 45 David Fr um , ‘It’s Big Govern men t St upid ’, Comm entary, Ju ne 1994. 46 As th e ne w Whit e Pa per insis ts. Th e Fu tu re of H igh er E du cati on , p. 8: ‘The social class gap in entry to higher education remains u nacceptably wid e.’

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en coura ge people to exit from the pover t y tr ap an d p er m it tar geted fina ncial help to be brought to bear on clever child re n fr om ver y low-income ba ckgr oun ds. T his d oe s n ot a t all m e a n t h e s a m e a s t h e p r es en t policy of p u s h in g in t h e di r ect ion of u n i ve r si ty m a n y t h ou s a n d s of ch i ld r en w h o h a v e n o a p t i t u d e for i t . S o m e t a x -r e d u c t i on s a r e s i m p l y c l e a r i n g - u p e x e r c i s e s S om e ta xes on pr oper ty d o not yie ld mu ch an d th eir r e t en t ion is in th e m ain n ot even a ma tter of s p it e fu l p r op i t ia t ion of e n v y. It s t em s r e a ll y from m e r e inert ia. B ar ry B ra cewellM ilnes h a s r igh t ly s a id th a t de a t h -du t ies yie ld on ly s om e 1.5 p e r ce n t of I n l a n d R e v e n u e r e ce i p t s , p a r t of the governm e n t ’s ‘s m a l l ch a n g e ’ a s h e p u t s it. 47 N ot m u ch , b u t ou r ha rd-pressed un iver sit ies w ould find it he lpful i f som e of t h e fu n d s r ece iv ed b y s t r u gg ling hous eholds were relieved by p r oba t e fr om t h e ir p a r en t s ’ p r u d en ce , ju s t wh e n t h e lat ter s’ gra nd childr en ar e ap plyin g for un ivers ity. B u i ld i n g u p r e q u is i te i n te r es t g r ou p s T o en cou r a ge p ot en t ia l p r iva t e d em a n d for h igh er ed u ca t ion , t h e cu r r en t t re a su r y m a n t r a a b ou t level pla yin g fi e ld s s h ou l d b e r u t h le ss ly pu s h e d t o one side. Wha t can ‘level pla ying field’ me an in a n economy wh ere 4 0 p er ce n t of t h e n a t ion a l i n com e p a ss es t h r ou g h gov er n m e n t h a n ds , t o t h e a d va n t a ge of m a n y p er v er s e in t e r es t s ? T h e r e a r e good a n d b a d in t er es t s. If we h a d n o t , for d eca des in th e British case, subsidised th e pu rch as e of priva te h ous in g, m illion s m or e t od a y would st ill eke out th eir live s in coun cil housing. We ca n now e limin at e su bsid ies, t he ha bit of pur cha sin g pr iva te dw ellin gs h a vin g be come a n ir re ver sib le in te re st . We ne ed n ow, in ed uca tion an d h ealt h, wh at we h ave a lr ea dy a ch iev ed in h ou si n g, a pr ope r econ om ic a pp a r a t u s of mod er nit y, wh ich in clu d es a n e xte ns ive a nd ra tion ally entr enched int ere st grou p, wit h a n in sist en ce on pr ivat e ow n er s h ip of e d u ca t i on a l a s s et s a n d a d ee pl y r a t ion a l a n d 47 Bar ry Br acewe ll-Milnes , E u t h a n as ia f or D ea t h Du t i es : p u t ti n g Inheritance Tax out of Its Misery, IEA, 2002, p. 22.

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re as ona ble s e n s e o f i t s own in t e r es t a s a m a i n st r e am p r eoccu p a t ion . The bu rden of income tax sh ould fall, but eve n wit hin t h a t sma ller m a r g in , given tha t th e tax-burd en will rem ain excessive for a long tim e, edu cat iona l expe nd it u r e should be su bsidised by tax reliefs. The presen t i n t e r e s t n exu s i n h igh er ed u ca t ion , by cont ra st , favour ing h i gh t a xa t ion a n d ch e a p un iver sit ies, is ve ry d ispu ta ble in principle, ind eed lar gely a ma tter of lon g -t e r m h a bi tu a t ion . I t s h ou l d b e re pla ced by a low ta xat ion-ré gim e, wh ich will ‘con s t r u c t ’ a n i n t er e s t gr ou p e n joy in g ve r y su bst an tia l ta xb r e a k s in r ela t ion t o its edu cat iona l ar ra nge m en ts , lead ing t o t h e p r i v a t e p u r c h a s e by ci ti zen s ou t of in cr ea se d d is pos ab le incomes, of a very price-diverse s e t of un iver sit y c ou r s e s , t h e u n i v er s i t i e s in v o lv e d d r a w i n g m o s t of th eir r e ve n u e fr om p r iv a te f e e s r a t h er t h a n fr om g ov er n m e n t funds. I t i s t r u e t h a t t a x - b r e a k s w ou ld pe r pe t u a t e s om e of t h e subsidised co n s u m p t io n t h a t in p r in ci pl e w e d ep lor e ; b u t t h e m o r e g en e r a l fun ctionin g of rat ionally priced unive rs it y edu cat ion w ou l d m or e t h a n com p e n s a t e for th is deficiency. B e ca u s e it wou ld d r a w incr ea sin gly on p riva te fu nd s, it w ou l d ine xora bly con d u ce t o a m o r e m a r k e t-n a t u r a l b a la n ce bet ween cu r r icu l a r con s u m p t i on a n d cu r r icu l a r i n ve st m e n t a t u n iv e r sity an d it would simu ltan eously reduce wast e. When it comes t o th eir own mon ey people ar e less likely t o ‘pl a y s illy bu gge r s’, to u se York sh ir e id iom . T h e e c o n o m i c a p p a r a t u s o f m o d er n i t y a n d t h e e d u c a tiona l shortfall th erein O n e of t h e pa r adoxes of economic modern ity in th e richer societie s is the exten t to which th eir educat ional arr an gem e n t s a r e n o t t h e m s e l ve s fu l l y p a i d - u p e xa m p l e s of t h e ‘m od er n ’ condit ion. Moder nit y d oes include a spec iali sed di vis ion of i n t ellectu al labour wit h a large recru itmen t, but t h is is a ne cessa ry, n ot a su fficien t d efinit ion . To meet the full cr it e r ia of e con om i c m od er n it y, t h e or g an i sa t ion of l ea r n in g m u s t a ls o i ts el f i n cl u de a s a n i n te gr a l fe a t u re t h e developed a pp a ra tu s of t h e m ode rn m a rk et . I nd eed , th is

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ma rket p r e s e n c e m u s t a l s o b e tr ue of the lar ge-scale produ ction of al l p riv at e good s. In th e h igh er ed u ca t ion a l a r r a n g e m e n t s of coun t r ies lik e B r it a in , we se e t h e con t r a di ctor y p h en om e n on of a socialist or ga n is a t ion of u n i ve r s it y life, based on pu blic fina nce and egalitar ian ideologies.48 We ca n de fin e t h e h igh er ed u ca t ion a l sh ort fall in th is r espect factually, descriptively, in ter ms of what edu ca t ion a l a r r a n gem e n t s are, or n e ga t ively , counterfactu ally , in t er m s o f w h a t t h e y a r e n ot . E d u ca t iona l socia lism , th e rea lity, mea ns overwhelm ing reliance within the h igher edu cat ion s ystem on pu blic fi n an ce a n d t h e n e a r im poss ibility of t h e s en i or m a n a ger s of th e sys tem ach ievin g re ally high in com es a n d s u b s t a n t ia l p r iv a t e w e a lt h . It is a s y st em w it h ina dequ at e pr oper ty r ight s a nd consequ en tly a n inflexib le orga n isation of resources. It is a syst em wh ere t h o s e wh o wou ld be com e w ea lt h y m u st lea ve t h e e du ca t ion a l w or l d , with its p ub lic proper ty, its coercion (we refer t o t h e intolerabl e a p p a r a tu s of spy ing a n d ar m-t wist ing), it s s t a t e i n tr u s ion a n d r e gu l a t ion , its ‘b u r e a u c r a t i c c en t r a l i sm ’ a n d ‘su bsid ised inn ova t ion ’, a n d e n t er th e r is ky wor ld of capitalism proper. T h e sociological penum bra to B r it is h h igh er ed u ca t ion ’s i n a d eq u a t e e con om i c a r r a n ge m en t s in cl u de s a p ow er fu l nom enklatu ra , on e w h ich , h ow ev er , h a s ne ith er owne rs hip of n or full responsibi lity for the a ssets of the system it r u n s. N or doe s i t r ece ive a de qu a t e r ew a r ds or pu n is h m en t s for t h e a c a d e m i c r e s u l t s t o w h i ch t h a t s y s t e m l e a d s . T h e h yp ot h et ica l ‘fre e e n t er pr is e h igh er ed u ca t ion system ’, by con t r a s t , involves a th orough ly bour geois world , w h ich inclu des not only t h e la r ge m id dl e cla ss wh ich n ow op e r a t e s the s ocialist version of the s ystem bu t a lso, above t h is a d m i n i s t r a t i v e cl a s s , a n ed u ca t i on a l b o u r g e oi s ie p r op e r , w h os e l a rg e b u t p re ca r iou s for t u n es a n d fa m e d ep en d on t h e r e a l ou t p u t of t h e p r i va t e edu cat iona l s y st em w h o s e t r a d a b l e a s s e t s t h e y co n t r o l a n d o ft e n o w n ou t r i gh t . Sch ools an d colleges in m an y in sta nces will be t h e p r op e r t y of th is ed u ca t ion a l bou r geoi si e. A v igor ou s m a r k e t i n 48 More properly we can say this of the whole education system . See Den nis O ’Keeffe, Poli tica l Cor rect nes s an d P ub lic F in an ce, IEA, 1999.

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e du ca t ion a l a s s e t s w ould ty pify t h es e a rr a n gem en ts , an d t r a d in g in ed u ca t ion cou ld in pr in cip le b ecom e a s com m on p l a c e a s t r a d i n g i n m a n u f a ct u r e s o r b a n k i n g s t o ck s . The n eed for for -profit un iversi ties I t i s t r u e t h a t w e n ow ha ve only on e pr ivat e u nive rs ity in t h is cou n t r y a n d n o n a t i ve ‘for pr ofit’ ones . Th is could soon ch a n g e, a n d p r o b a b l y w ill. In t h is sen se s ome of th e Am er ica n un iver sit ies n ow oper at ing for-pr ofit fra nch ises in t h is cou n t r y must be regar ded a s sources of economic em ula tion . For -profit u n iversities w ou l d br in g a h e a lt h y a n d p r od u ct i ve dynamism t o t h e w h ol e system . T h is w ou l d be t h e case even w h e r e m ost pr iva t e u n ive r si t ie s w er e n ot for -pr ofit on es . T h e bott om lin e dyn am ism of inte llectu al r ep r od u ct i on a n d in n ova t ion w ou l d d er ive from those t h a t were for-profit. Th e overa ll syst em would ine vit a bly en d u p a s a ‘m ixe d e con omy’ of hig h er ed u cat ion , a t least for t h e pr edict ab le fu t u r e; fa r from ideal but b et t er b y a l on g wa y th an th e effectively m on op o li s t ic, m o st l y s t a t e -fu n d e d s ys t e m w e h a v e n ow , t o w h ich Un iver sit ies U K cons tit ut es a mos t u nin spir ing a n d self-congra tu lat ory ca rt el. 49 V ou c h er s p l u s t o p u p I n t h e e a r ly y ea r s of p r iv a ti sa t ion , govern men t involvement w ill r em a in h ea vy. T h is pe r sis t en ce cou ld , in th e lon g r u n a n ywa y, at lea st in p rin ciple, en ab le h ighe r ed uca tio n t o e xp er im e n t with a voucher system s im ilar t o t h a t wh i ch pol it ica l m a n a g e m e n t h a s m ost ly been too coward ly to im ple m e nt lower down the edu cation system . One frequ e n t l y touted r e for m is effectively a vou cher s ch e m e unde r w h ich ea ch st u de n t qu a lifie d r ece ive s a ba si c ‘vou ch er ’ or s t a n d a r d u n i ve r s it y p a ym e n t on t op of which un iversities ad d ext ra fees a t t he ir d i s cr e t i on . T h i s w a s t h e f ir s t opt ion 49 The identification of Universities UK a s a cart el we owe to a recent conve rs at ion w ith Pr ofess or C olin Robin son at th e In st itu te of Econom ic Affair s. Th e re cent pub lication by Un ivers ities UK, T h e University Culture of Enterprise: Knowledge Transfer Across the Nat ion, 2002, is a m onum ent of self-rega rd a nd comp lacent postu rin g.

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favour ed by the T aylor Report, comm issioned by U nive rs ities U K . 50 Th is pol icy, if e n a ct ed , w ould help gener ate a r a t ion a l sprea d o f un iver sit y pr icing t ha t w ould per m it m u ch mor e sen sit ive d eci si on -m a k i n g on t h e p a r t o f w ou l d be s t u d e n t s a n d a ll ow u n i ve r s it i es t o m ak e in pa ra llel a r a t ion a l a p p r a i sa l of t h e ir s t r en g t h s a n d we a k n es s es a n d align th em se lve s a ccord in gly on th e s pe ctr u m between ‘cheap for th e st ud en ts bu t s ub ject t o govern m en t cont rols a n d res t r i ction s’ an d ‘dea re r t o th e st ud en ts bu t en joying m or e fu n ct ion a l a u t on om y ’. T h e W h i t e P a p e r a n d t h e e xc el l en c e/e q u a l i ty t en s i on : t h e ‘a c c es s r e g u la t o r ’ Pr edict ab ly the L abour governm en t is n ot goi n g t o p u r s u e t h e voucher route. Th e big problem at p r e s e n t is t h a t th e f u n d s for s o m a n y p e op l e w a n t i ng t o go to u nive rs ity w ill n ot read ily be forthcoming. Let u s n ot l os e s i gh t o f t h i s . Sa dly, b u t predictabl y, t h e d eb a t e is clu t t er ed u p b y ou r old Br itis h class obsessions. T h e old n ot ion t h a t it is u n f a i r t h a t peop le from lower social class positions should en ter u n i ve r s it y i n si gn i fi ca n t ly sm a l le r pr op or t ion a t e n u mb e r s t h a n those from higher groups is a r epeat ed th em e of T h e Futu re of H igh er E d u cat ion . 51 Indeed the Wh ite Pa per m a n i fe s t s a s o u r e g a l it a r i a n i s m a l o n g s id e i t s g e n e r a ll y comm enda ble de si r e t o se ek exce lle n ce, a lon g wi t h m or e f u n d s . It is a n ea r p e r f e ct exa mp le of one ad min istr at ive h a n d n o t k nowin g what the oth er is up to. It seeks higher i n t ellect u a l qu a lit y by tr yin g t o pu t h igh er ed u ca t ion to s om e ext en t ba ck i n tou ch wit h th e e lem en t a r y fa cts of su pp ly a n d d e m a n d . It does n ot a d m it t ha t t his is wh at it is d o in g , b u t i t is . T h a t th e a dm is si on is n ot m a de is com pr om i si n g in it se lf. To p u t th e t r u t h blu n t ly, for too l on g w e 50 Quoted in Dickson, ‘UK universities a nd th e sta te’, 2001, p. 27. 51 It is noted on p. 4 and again on p. 8, which latter page opines that the social class gap in entr y to higher ed ucation is t oo wide. On p. 17 we are informed that the children of professional people are five times as likely to go to university as those of working-class background. All we can say t o such exotic statist ics, is: so what ? Why should th is be th ought of as hu rt ful or ins ult ing?

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h a v e s h ie d a wa y fr om t h e i n d i s p e n s a b i l it y o f m a r k e t s t o adva nced civilisat ion. H ighe r ed uca tion policy is virt u a l ly c r ip p l ed , h owever , by th e La bour Pa rt y’s se nt im en ta l, r e si du a l Mar xisant fanat icism, its pr eference for equ a lity over excelle n ce , a t w h a t e ve r cos t t o t h e la t t e r . T h u s t h e W h i t e Pa per envisages every un ivers it y wish ing t o increas e t h e level of fees, as first h aving to dra w up a n Access A gr e e m en t , d e s i gn e d f or r e a ch i n g dis a d v a n t a g e d s t u d e n t s . Moreov er , a n ‘Access Re gu la t or ’ will be app ointed t o oversee t h e s e a r r a n gem en t s. T h is la st id ea h a s n ot fou n d fa vou r w it h Vice-C h a n cell or s. Let us give the t hing its r eal na me, ‘Pe ople’s C om m is s a r for P r ol et a r ia n Ad va n ce m en t ’, a n d h o p e t h a t i n t i m e i t i s p r op e r l y d r o p p ed . C e r ta i n ly th e fa m ily lik en es s t h is id ea be a r s t o t h e b a n is h ed wor ld of t h e Soviet fantasy is q u i t e un m ist ak ab le. The new Wh ite Pa p er re vea ls t h a t , ra th er relu cta nt ly, the gr adu ate t a x is t h e wa y t h e gove r n m e n t i s going t o go. 52 T h e r e will be s om e r e cou r s e t o pr ivat e m onies. T he re w ill also be m ore pu blic mon ey. F r o m 2004 a b ou t a t h i r d of s t u d e n t s w i l l ben efit from a n ew g r an t o f u p t o £ 1 ,0 0 0 p er a n n u m for lower inc o m e s t u d e n t s . Sign ifican tly, h o we ve r , fr o m 20 0 6 u n d e r a n e w gr a d u a t e con t r ibu t ion scheme, u n i v e r s it i e s w il l b e a l lo we d t o ch a r g e u p to £3,000 per ann um per course. This seem s a s an idea b y fa r t h e m o s t im p o r t a n t i n n ov a t io n of t h e n e w p a ck a ge, a n d it might conceivably be taken as a pointer t o lik ely fu t u r e d e v e lo p m e n t s . O n cl os e r i n s pect ion the p olicy does n ot in sp ir e con fid en ce. F ir st of a l l ther e is huge r esistan ce, from L a bou r M P s a s m u ch a s fr om u n i v e rsit y per son ne l. T h is alliance is ha rdly sur prising, given tha t t h e y a r e lar gely th e s a m e con s t i t u en c y. By la t e J u n e 2 00 3 a s m a n y a s 170 Labou r MP s ha d signed e a r ly da y m ot ion s op p os in g t h e cha nge s in s t u de n t finan ce.53 On Mon da y 23 J u n e s om e 140 of t h e m d e f ied a th r ee -lin e gov er n m en t wh ip on th e q u e s t ion . W e m i g h t b e m a k i n g a m is t a k e t h e n t o s e e t h e W h i t e P a p e r a s p r oof of a cl ea r d e s ir e t o m a k e p r iv a t e citizens contr ibu te t o grea ter econom ic ra tion alit y in t h e 52 Th e Fu tu re of H igh er E du cati on , p. 9. 53 T h e T im e s H ig h er E d u ca t io n S u p pl em e n t, 27 Ju ne 2003, p. 2.

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a r r a n g e m e n t s of high er ed uca tion . On fur th er ins pect ion t h e p o li cy h a s n o s u ch c l a r i t y . T h e s t r en g th of th e de sir e is v er y u n clea r. F or on e t h in g, wh ile t h e govern men t is t a l k in g t ou g h a n d s a ys it wil l n ot give wa y on th e policy,54 i t h a s t o d a t e p u l le d ba ck fr om e ve r y other s e r iou s p r op os e d r e for m of the welfare st ate. S o w e c a n n o t b e s u r e a b o u t ou t c o m e s . C on d it ion s are r ipe for ref or m b u t th e will is s eem ingly weak. T h e policy is a ls o cru cially fla wed by it s a llian ce with socia l e n g i n e e r i n g . I ndeed in s u ch a pol icy t h e w a r between t h e tw o di ffer en t fact ion s of m ode r n La bou r h a s b ecom e i n ca r n a t e . If u n ive r si t ies wa n t to ch a r g e t op -up fees they will h a v e t o d oct or t h e ir in t a ke t o inclu de m o r e st a t e s ch ool p u p i l s a n d lower in com e st u d e n t s. T r u e, t h e r e a r e n o s t a t ed t a r g e t s . Th e ‘Access Regu la t or ’ wil l, h owe ver , m on it or un iversities t o en su re th at th eir policies a re su fficien tly e ga l it a r ia n . 55 We a re inclin ed t o th ink th at th e in toler ab le bu sin e s s of clever children being t ur ned a w a y because t h ey a r e too middle class will be given a boos t if t h e p olicy w or ks a n d t h a t t h e e xt r a fee in com e generat ed m a y pr ove n ot t o be w or t h t h e s o ci a l p ri ce p a i d . In an y case th e Regu lat or will n ot s t a rt t ill 2 00 5 a n d t h e t op-u p m on ey w ill n ot be in t r oduced till 2006. T h e l e v yi n g o f a g r a d u a t e t a x T h ou g h r ejectin g vou ch ers, t h e govern men t, in plu m pin g for t op -u p fees, is in s om e d e gr ee followin g Ta ylor . Accord ingly , th erefore, minist ers h ave gone for a r é g im e o f g r a d u a t e t a xa t ion , wher eby st u d e n t s p a y ba ck t h e fees origin ally p a id by t h e gov er n m e n t . 56 A s w e s h a ll see, a m odi cu m of p r es en t pol it ica l a c ce p t a b i li t y is s ou g h t b y t h e d elayin g of the evil momen t of initiat ion unt il 2006. This, t h e pol icy favour ed by t h e p r e se n t gov er n m e n t , wa s a l s o th e second option favoured by T a y l or . T h e i d ea i s t h a t s t u d e n t s w i ll p a y ba c k p a r t of th eir t u i t ion cost s, once t he ir 54 T h e T im e s H ig h er E d u ca t io n S u p pl em e n t, 27 Ju ne 2003, p. 2. 55 Obs erv er, 6 April 2003, ‘Home News’. 56 Th e Fu tu re of H igh er E du cati on , pp. 8-9.

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inc om e reaches a certa in level. This option could h ave been us efully com bin ed w ith the first option, th e voucher. 57 It is t o b e r e gr e t te d t h a t t h e v ou c h e r r o u t e is n o t t o b e fo ll ow e d , si n ce i t h a s a p ra isewor th y as pect of imp ers ona lity a nd un ivers alit y. A s t o f ee s , t h e y a r e n e v er p op u l a r in a s oci et y t h a t w as t a u gh t u n t il n ot lon g a go n ot to e xpe ct t h em , an d t h e r e will be some a dverse re act ion t o those priced n e a r t h e £3,000 p e r a n n u m m a x i m u m , a l w a y s s u p pos in g sign ifica n t n u m b e r s of un iversities t a k e u p t h e opt ion . Dou bt les s s om e s t u d e n t s will be deterr ed by th e pr ospect of sizea ble r epa yments. To w h ich on e is inclined t o s a y t h a t in t h is ca s e s u ch s t u d e n t s cann ot be very serio u s . T he k in d of r e ck on i n g involved for s t u de n t s or t h e ir p a r en t s is , a ft e r al l, fa r l e s s com pl ica t e d t h a n th e mortga ge finan ce most citizens u n d e r t a k e t h e se da y s, a n d a lot less oner ous . We wou ld r a n k it s co m pl ex it y w it h t h e p u r ch a si n g of a n e w is h ca r or b u d ge t in g for a n a n n u a l h ol id a y ou t of similar ly limited funds. At pr es en t, t h oug h , t h e t a x-based provision of governm e n t m on e y will con t i n u e t o domina te. T h e govern men t will con t in u e t o p a y t h e fi r st £1 ,10 0 of fee s for st u de n t s fr om lower i n c o m e fa m i li es . U p -fr on t fe es wi ll be a bol is h ed a n d a l l stu dent s will be pe r m it t ed to d efer th eir con t r ibu t ion t o t h e cos t of t h ei r cou r s e u n t il t h ey h av e g ra d u a t ed . F r om Apr il 2005 s t u dent s will not have t o s t a r t r e pa y in g th eir fee con t r ibu t ion or t h e ir m a in t e n an c e loa n u n t i l t h e y a r e e a r n in g £15,000 per an nu m (form erly £10,000 per an nu m ). T h is h e dg in g r ou n d o f f in a n c ia l i n n o v a t i on s i g n a l s t h e ide ologica l ba tt les ra gin g in ed u cat ion a l h igh pla ces. I t i s e s t im a t e d t h a t ‘u p a n d r u n n i n g ’ t h e n e w g r a d u a t e con t r ibu t ion schem e will raise s om e £1.5 bil lion per a n n u m . Pu blic sp en din g on h igh er ed u cat ion is d u e t o ris e by £2.3 bil lion over the n ext t h r ee years, from £7.6 billion th is year t o £9.9 billion in 2005, or six per cent per an nu m in r eal term s. In other words th e new pr ivat e fees w ill not kick in u n t i l a ft e r t h e g ov er n m e n t h a s a lr ea d y p r ovid ed bil lion s m o r e from the pu blic pur se. Th e p r op er si gn ifica n ce of t h e fees is t ha t, following on th e le ss a m bit iou s ch a n ges of 57 Dickson, ‘UK un iversities an d the s tat e’, 2001, p. 27.

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r e ce n t yea rs , th ey r epr esen t a pote nt ial fu rt he r b re ach in t h e n a t ion ’s r eli a n ce on t h e pu blic pur se. In t h e lon g-r u n t h e w a ll s of h a b it u a t ion w il l ca v e i n u n de r t h e r e le n t le ss a n d irr esis tib le p r e ss u r e of t h e laws of su pp ly a n d d em a n d . T h is does n o t m e a n t h e r e i s a s t r on g pu bli c wil l for r a t ion a l r efor m . T h e intr oduction of fees is, predictabl y, p r ovin g s low i n t h e ex t r em e. T h is is t h e s h or t e r -t e r m l a w s of p ol i t ic s a t w or k . We n oted ea rli e r th a t th er e is h u ge op pos it ion from m a n y ba ckb en ch L a bou r M P s. T h e F u t u re of Higher E du cat ion w a s published in J a n u a r y 2003, a n d t h e in com e fr om t op -u p fe es will n ot com e on s tr ea m for t h r ee m or e ye a r s . T h e r eform is, m oreover , fairly t im id, in pu re ly fina ncia l t er m s , cert ain ly if we comp ar e th e £3,00 0 m axim u m w i t h t h e fe es ch a r g ed a t t h e be t t er A m er i ca n u n i v er s i t i e s . P r o f es s o r B r u c e C o op e r o f F o r d h a m U n i v e r s i t y in f or m s u s t h a t Ivy League U niversities char ge upwa rds of $30,000 a y ea r . T h ou g h t h e m a jor ity of t h e student s, s om e 70 per cent , get s u bv en t ion s a n d ot h er reliefs, t h e fee in com e received by t h e m or e p r es t igiou s Am er ica n u n i ve r sities is u nd oubt edly h u g e a n d t h e m a i n p r op of t h eir se cu r it y a n d i n t ell ect u a l di st in cti on . T h e B r i ti sh i n t en t i on t o ch a r ge t op -u p fe es is t h u s n o m o r e th a n a poi n t er of pos si ble ch a n ges to com e fr om t h e p r e se n t govern men t, though sooner or later som e gover n m e n t or oth er will h a v e t o initiat e them . It seems p robable, a l l r es er va t ion s e n t er ed , t h a t wi t h in a de ca de , s h or t of a n un th inka ble wholesa l e reve rs ion t o pub lic fun ds, h uge in ject ion s of pr iva te fun din g, va st ly e xcee di n g £1 .5 b illi on per a n n u m , w il l b e a v a il a bl e t o t h e s ys t e m , d e s pi t e t h e pol it ica l a n d e du cat ion a l r es ist a n ce. T h e ra te of chan ge, h owev er , re m a in s d es pe ra te ly sl ow. Al te r n a tive ext r a pol icie s a r e cle a r ly n ee de d e ven for t h e govern men t t o persist with its p res en t s low-moving p r o p osa l s , o t h e r w i s e t h e h i gh e r e d u ca t i on s y s t em w i ll m a k e litt le pr ogr e s s i n ex it in g fr om i ts cu r r e n t s t r a it -ja ck e t. O n e possibility would be to devise some s pecific for m u l a p er m it t in g un iver sit ies t ha t a chieve , sa y, 50 pe r cen t fin an cial i n de pe n de n ce of t h e s t a t e, t o w i t h d r a w from a l l nat ion-wide

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bu re au cra tic en t a n g le m en t . I n a n y ca s e w e t a k e t h e ca u t iou s v ie w t h a t i n h i g h e r e d u ca t ion, as in th e earlier sta ges of i n s t r u ct ion, fu ll-blooded ed uca tion al s ocialism is n ow in at least t he ea rly stages of a retr eat, some of t h e m edicin e th at will be n eed ed h avin g a t l e a s t b e e n m a d e pu blic, however ten ta tively. The n eed for r eal istic fees Sir G r ah a m H ills r ight ly sa ys u niver sitie s m us t ch ar ge re alis tic fees if t h ey a r e t o be com e in de pe n de n t a ga in . H e a l s o s t r e s s e s t h a t we must a v oid subsidising th e supp lier,58 a n d th e n ew fees w ould h elp in th is re gar d, th ough th e m a x im u m of £ 3 , 0 00 i s t oo lo w . T h e p o l ic y i s m o d e s t . I t migh t e v e n s o en coura ge m or e r ea lis t ic d ecis ion -m a ki n g of a cu r ricu lar k i n d , pr obab ly begin nin g t h e n e ce ss a ry p r o ce s s of reining ba ck on soft social science and cor r u p t e d a r t s i n t h e m or e p r es t igiou s u n ive r sit ies a n d con cen t r a t in g s u ch a n t in om i a n fa r e in t h e less pr es t igiou s un iver sit i e s a n d less high ly ra te d a re a s of u n iver sit y life, s u ch a s m e d i a s t u d i e s . T h e pos si bil it y of si gn ifica n t fee-i n com e will make a bigger difference to rich un iversities t h a n t o p oor e r on e s, b u t t h is is n ot int rin sically a b a d t h in g e x ce p t in m i n d s co r r u p t ed by th e envious imper atives of the welfar e sta te. G o v er n m e n t f u n d i n g i n r e t u r n f o r u n i v e r s i t y c u r r i cula r su rr end er Un fortu na tely, an other featu re of g ov e r n m e n t p o l ic y m a d e its noisy public reappea ra nce in J u l y 2003: t h e govern m e n t d em a n d in g m o r e ce n t r a l cu r r i cu l a r con t r ol in u niversities in retu rn for increa sed fund ing. The problem i s t h a t t h e u n folding pr essu re of ma rk et forces, wit h t he ir a bility t o cope with a d i ve r s it y of s t a t u se s a n d s u bt le d iffer en t ia t ion s a m on g the in stitu tions th ey spontan eously regulate, vies w it h t h a t com p u ls iv e t em p t a t i on t o r es or t t o a r t i fi ci a l, coercive con t r ols th at a lways more or less captivat es govern men t in t h e f r e e s oc ieties. In t h e lon g r u n t h e m a r k e t will b r in g t o the u niversity world, as m uch a s to an y other 58 Sir G ra ha m H ills, ‘Who Owns t he U niver sitie s?’, 2001, p. 16 .

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complex, a n d i n c r u c ia l r e s p ects, econom ic rea lity, a g r ea t er clar ity. T h e d iffe r in g pu r p os es a n d fu n ct ion s of d iffe r en t gra d es of u n i ve r s it y will become m ore ma n i fe s t , a n d we will be a ble to s ee m or e cle a r ly w h ich u n i v er s it ie s ca n a n d s h ou l d h a v e w h ich i n t el le ct u a l a sp ir a t ion s . U n d e r a m or e r a t ion a l use of resour ces t h e r e will be a sha rper delin ea t ion of t h e wid e va rie ty of ins tit ut ions , from é lite, t o mid dlin g, t o, ult ima tely, low-grad e ones. B u t t h e ‘lon g-r u n ’ m e a n s ju st th at: it ta kes tim e. Un der m a r k e t c on d i t i o n s , it w ou l d b e t h e su p p ly of a n d d em a n d fo r u n i v er s i t y ed u ca t i on , n ot t h e g ov er n m e n t , t h a t w ou l d de cid e on n ew th ings , ra dical in nova t ion s s u ch a s s om e u n i ve r siti es concen tr at ing on post -gra du at e te ach ing a n d r e s e a r c h , a n d o t h e r s on u n d er g ra d u a t e t e a ch i n g a n d y et ot h e r s de cid in g t o con t in u e w it h va r yin g com bin a t ion s of b ot h . O n t h e ot h e r h an d , estab lis h ed differen ces in a ca d em ic accomplishm ent wou ld a l s o b e br o u gh t i n t o s h a rper relief. T h e a d m i n i s t e r e d , politicised system we h a ve is obviously alread y associated with h ierar chies, ancient a n d ne w, bu t t he y a r e h a m pered h ierar chies, compromised by t h e id eologica l cont ra dict ion s of gover n m en t. Un iversities w i ll , w e h a v e s e e n , b e a l lo w ed t o r a i s e m o r e fee-i n com e if t h ey w id en a cces s i n te r m s of s o ci a l cl a s s . O n t h e ot h e r h a n d t h e y ca n g e t la rger su bs id ies f rom the state if t h e y a x e l es s su c ce ss f u l d ep a rtm ents in th e in ter est s of raisin g the B ritish contrib ut ion to élite un iversity work . It is a s if t h e m a n a g em e n t of u n i ve r s it i es w er e ad vised ly bein g subjected t o a mass s ch i zop h r en ia . S u ch m a n a ge m en t m u s t n ow be a nigh tm ar ish expe rie n ce for t h o se e n t r u s t ed w it h it. P e r i od i c i n sp e c t io n s c a n n o t r a i se st a n d a r d s I f t h e n u m b e r of u n i ve r s it i es is s m a l l t h e n t h e on-going e xp er ie n ce of h ig h er edu ca t ion by t h e s m a llis h pop u la t ion of edu cat ed p eople i s t h e a p p r op r ia t e m od e for a s se ss m e n t of st a n da r ds , h owe ve r h igh er ed u ca t ion is fin a n ced . I f t h e n u m b er of un iver sit ies is lar ge, th e long-r un tr ut h is th a t only pr ivat e fina nce st an ds m uch cha nce of sett ling t he q u es t ion . T h e s t a t u s of u n iv e r s it y d ep a r t m en t s ca n n ot

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pr oper ly be se t t led by b u r ea u cr a t ic com m i t t e es , a s in t h e c ou r s e of t h e a b r a ca d a b r a vi si t a t ion s of t h e R es e a r ch Assessmen t Ex er cise, e ve r y fou r or five years. These h a pp en in cir cu m s ta n ce s of e xt r em e ar t ificiality. Success requires t h e achievemen t of 5*, soon to be 6*, proxy governm ent r a t i n g s . Anythin g less is a tar get for fiscal pu nish men t. T h is is a system for th e p e r m a n e n t h u m il ia t ion of i n st it u t ion s of avera ge or lower th an avera ge intellect u a l s t a t u s . T h is com bin a t ion of fa r ce a n d st r i ct u r e is a p oor s u r r og a t e for lon g-r u n pu blic ap pr eciat ion of var iat ions in in t ell ect u a l dist inct ion. We s hou ld a ll k n ow n ow a bou t t h e fe a r , m e n a ce a n d h y pocr is y s u r r ou n d in g s u ch g ov er n m e n t i n s t r u m e n t s , as well a s t he ir h o p e less ins en sit ivity. Th is h a s be en clea r lowe r dow n th e s ys t em wit h th e op e r a t ion s of OFSTE D. In th e case of pu blic good s like d efe n ce a n d t h e police, t h e s t a t e m u s t n e e d s devise ma rket proxies, faute d e m ieu x. I n a m a ss ed u ca t ion s ys t em on ly t h e m a r ke t ca n p r op er ly m e d ia t e pu blic a p p r eciation of the rea l differences in cogn it ive a chi eve m en t b y di ffere n t i n st it u ti ons . The Bla ir governmen t h as been he lples sly torn bet ween t h e ma nifest need t o cultivat e world-class un iversities a n d t h e soci a lis t im pe r a t ive for t h e le vel lin g of in st it u t ion a l sta tu ses a n d t h e e q u a l i s in g o f r e s o u r c e s . W e k n o w h o w t h e con t r a d ict ion s of t h e system can be overcome. T h e m a r k e t , a n d only the m a r k e t , ca n d o it . W h a t w e d o n o t k n o w i s whet her t h e p r e se n t im pa ss e will be br ough t t o a r ea s on ab ly swift con clu si on , pr ecisely a n d only by recourse t o m or e ma rket r e s o ur c e s . P robably it will not be. The pr esent sit ua tion s u g ge s t s t o u s t h a t un t il th e con t r a d ict ion s of t h e u n i ve r s it y sy st em be com e s o a cu t e a s t o pa r a lys e it a lt og et h e r , it wil l s t a gge r on in t h e con fu s ion i n wh i ch i t h a s n ow languish ed for some decades . Potentia l for refor m m a y th us rem ain for long m er e pot en tia l. T h e Tha tcher r evol u t ion in ind ust ry an d privat e services w a s n ot ma de in a d ay. Ma rk et forces offer n o quick fix. As t h e British 1980s showed, they r equire g o v e r n m e n t s t o disp lay un flinching courage in th e face of entren ched i n t e r e s t if t h eir good ou tcom es a re eve r t o be a chi eve d. T o fix ou r un iversities will be the work of years of determ ined

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govern men t. In J uly 2 003 t he th re at en ed u se of th e du ll coer cion of govern men t fi n a n ce t o cr e a t e élite i n s t it u t ion s by excisin g weaker depar tm en t s t h r ou g h differen tia l fun din g, cr e a t e d a pr ed icta ble u pr oar . T h is w a s b r ou g h t t o a hea d in t h e ca s e of As ia n S tu d ie s a t Du r h a m , a fa m ou s depar tm en t t h a t h a d not cha lked up a h igh en ough ra tin g, 59 b u t th e r e ve r be r a ti on s soon s p r e a d t o ot h er institutions.60 It is h a r d t o a v oi d t h e s u g ge s t ion t h a t t h e p r es e n t gov er n m e n t o f h igher edu cat ion will sta gger on , hop eless ly p u lle d t h is wa y a n d th at by t h e incom pa tib le re qu ire m en ts of élitism an d equality under a régime of public monies. E x ce l l en c e v er s u s eq u a l i t y I n a fr e e s oc ie t y , s u p p l y a n d d e m a n d ou g h t on i n t e ll ect u a l g r ou n d s t o va n q u i s h i d e ol og i ca l o bs es s i on e v e r y t i m e . T h e w a y t o loa d t h e s t r u g g l e in f a v ou r o f t h e m a r k e t i m p er a t i ve is to les sen t h e bur den of t a xa tion on families and thu s free u p t h e d is cr et ion a r y p owe r s of econom ic calcula tion . Sad ly, h o we ve r , we k n ow from t h e lon g p os t -w a r d ialectic between excellence a n d e q u a li t y t h a t for 50 y ea r s t h e for m e r —i n th e s h a p e o f t h e e l even -plus , gra m m a r s ch ool s, for m a l ly str uctur ed t e a ch i n g, t ou g h , u n s e e n ex a m i n a t ion s i n t h e ‘O ’ a n d ‘A’ level as cend an cy—was r oun dly t rou nced by th e l a t t er , i n t he sh a p e of com p r eh ensives, child-centred ped agogy, th e a bolit ion of élit e ex a m in a ti ons , an d t h e d e l ib e r a t e l ow e r i n g of s t a n d a r d s . If t h e r e w e r e n ow a n i m pa r t ia l recourse t o ev id en ce, i f we looked at wh at does m ost for a ver a g e s t a n da r d s a n d w h at m o s t h e l p s t h e poor , t h e b a t tl e for r ea son wou ld be won . Un fortu na tely, toda y th e forces of ‘equ alit y’ s e em d e t er m i n ed t o side st ep a ll a r g u m en t a n d a ct a s t h ou g h th eir own form er r e c ip e s fo r im p r o v e m e n t h a v e n ot h a d t h e a d v e r s e 59 Daily Telegraph, 4 J uly 2003 , p. 1 . At D ur ha m t he Dep ar tm en t of East Asian Studies is to close and the Depa rtm ent of Middle Eastern an d Is lam ic St ud ies will l ose i ts un der gr ad ua te s a nd conce nt ra te on post -gra du at e ed uca tion . 60 B r is t ol a n n ou n c ed a t t h e s a m e t im e t h a t by 20 07 it w il l b e su p p ly in g no re sour ces to re sear ch act ivity not rea ching t he equ ivalen t of 5* in th e 2001 RAE . Daily Telegraph, 4 July 2003, p .1.

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effect s tha t ar e the c a s e. Abolis h in g t h e el eve n -plu s, a n d r e pl a cing se lect ive state schools with compr ehen sives rem oved t h e m ech a n i sm s t h a t u n ti l 3 0 or so yea rs ago a llow ed clever work ing-class childr en to ris e aca dem ically. Pr ogressive ed u ca t ion a l t h eor y wi t h it s d is da in for d id a cti c m e t h o d s an d it s soft a ppr oach t o disciplin e pu t br ight children fr om t h e wor k in g classes a t furt her disadva nt age, a s d i d t h e cu lt u r a l r ela t ivis m th a t m a de so m u ch gr ou n d from th e 1970 s, ar guin g th at th e r e is n o such th ing a s a est he tic or in t ell ect u a l su per iority, b u t on l y t h e e n t r en ch ed in t ell ect u a l fa n cy of powerful groups. Having over decades set u p t h e sch oolin g wor ki n g-cla ss ch ild r en r ece ive in su ch a w a y a s t o m a k e th em th e u n lik eli es t ca n di da t es for a ca d em ic se lect ion , t h e p r o g r e s s iv e s n ow seek t o bypass t h e d e ba t e an d ma ke th e un iversities adm it th eir favoured but hyp ocritically n eglected can dida tes an ywa y. F or s om e t im e t h e n ot or i ou s p r a cti ce of t u r n in g a wa y of ca n d i d a t es from public schools and/or very well-educated h om e s h a s be en com m on p lace. As M ela nie Ph illips p oint s ou t , t h e r e h a s be en a pos t -code p r em iu m op er a t in g a t som e u n i v e r s i t i es , w h e r e b y b e t t e r g r a d e s a r e r e q u i r e d f or s t u d e n t s fr om i n d e p e n d e n t s c h o ol s .61 Un iversities ha ve been p a id to do this. Now Phillips says th ey are t o be bribed t o fa vou r t h os e w h o h a v e n o fa m ily wit h u n ive r si t y ba ckg r ou n d s a n d w h o come from poorly-a tt en din g sch ools. B e ca u s e so m a n y u n ive r si t y a dm in is t r a t ion s h a ve g on e a lon g with t he ideology-mongerin g, becau se too man y vicech a n cell or s d i d n o t re s is t t h e e a r li er b la n d i s h m e n t s , t h e defences of tra dit iona l int ellectu al e xcellen ce ar e gr ave ly w e a k e n e d . And we a re un ne cessa rily defle cte d fr om th e s e r i ou s t a s k o f s o r t i n g ou t u n i v e r s it y fi n a n c e s . T h e s e l li n g o f c a p i t a l a s s e t s t o e st a b l i s h un i v e r si t y e n d o w m e n t s 62 S ca r c it y is p e r p et u a l a n d a c u t e sh orta ge m a y be expected t o 61 Melan ie Ph illips ‘Thes e insid ious social en gineer s dest roying m erit an d as pira tion ’, Daily Mail , 26 Febru ary 2003. 62 Dickson, ‘UK un iversities an d the s tat e’, 2001, p. 27.

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r em ain w it h u s for yea r s. S om e u n ive r si t ies a r e r ich a n d ot h e r s a r e p o or . S om e c ou l d c r e a t e h u g e fu n d s t o s u pp o rt th eir var ious en dea vour s. Oth ers ha ve ba rely en ough com m a n d over r esou rces to r em ain in t h e over a ll b la ck. G ov er n m e n t s could s ell s o me of t h eir own en or m ou s holdin gs; but w hy sh ould higher ed ucation expect a p reem pt ive cu t fr om t h e s e? T h e r e a r e riva l cl ai m an t s . F or m a n y of t h e u n ive r si ti es in t h is cou n t r y t h e tr u t h is t h ey a r e fa r fr om w ea lt h y e it h e r i n i n co m e or p r o p e r t y t e r m s . Given how wealth y the coun try its el f i s n o w, t h o u g h t s a r e bou n d t o tu rn to t h e qu es ti on of p h ila n th rop y. T h e need for a n ew p hila nth rop ic tr ad ition of char itable endowments N i al l F e r g u s on d ou b t s w h et h e r B r i t a in c ou l d ev er i m it a t e su ccessfully t h e v e r y w ea l t h y p h i l a n t h r o p is t s of Am er ica n t r a d i t ion an d pra ctice. 63 It is t ru e th at in ou r t w en t ie t h ce n t u r y history of higher e d u c a t i o n w e British const ru cted a symbi osi s b e t w e e n s oc ia l i s t h a t r e d o f c a p i t a l is m a n d conser vat ive c on t e m p t for b u s i n e s s m e n . I n s u c h a n a t m o s p h e r e recourse t o t h e p u bli c pu r se wa s a n obvi ou s ou t com e. B u t t r a d it ion s ca n fa d e a n d be di sm a n t le d ju s t a s t h e y ca n e s t a b l i s h them selves. It may be claimed a g a in s t P r o fe s s or F e r gu s on ’s p e ss im i s m t h a t t h is cou n t r y is in fa c t d e e p ly com m i t t e d to p h ila n t h r opy a n d t h a t , giv en it s e n or m ou s w e a lt h t od a y, a n im i t at ion of th e Am er ican tr ad ition could be initiated. We will not kn ow till we t ry. At a ny r at e t h e r e seems to be a hope in governm ent circles tha t we m igh t get t h i n gs moving philanth ropically, to judge by the Wh it e P a p e r .64 Uni versit ies a s pr iva te com pa nies T on y Dickson points out th at u niversities could be floated a s pu bli c com pa n ies wit h eq u it y a va ila ble to p u bli c a n d p r i va t e p u r c h a s e r s . I f t h e equity rout e were followed then 63 Fer guson , ‘Drea min g Spire s an d Speed ing Modem s’, in Tooley, Buckin gham at 25, 2001, p. 18 4. 64 Th e Fu tu re of H igh er E du cati on , p. 9.

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fina n ci a l in t er m ediaries w ou l d h a v e t o p r e pa r e a p r os p e ct u s of t h e p h ys ica l a n d intellectua l asset s of a given in st it u t ion . T h e ini t i al public offering would deter min e the s ha re price.65 U n i vers ities followin g th is pr ocedu re would be a ble t o choose wher e t o a l ig n t h em s e lv es on t h e s p ect r u m b e t ween total freedom an d subm ission to governm ent imperatives. I t ca n n ot be st r es se d t oo m u ch t h a t t h e a t t e m p t s t o r a t i o n a l i s e via coercion m ust be deterr ing th e less successfu l institutions. T h is is so ine ra dica ble a fe a t u r e of socialis m t h a t w e ough t t o call it a ‘law ’ of socialism . It a lwa ys pen ali s e s t he poorer groups. Th e resea rch as sessm ent exercise, for exam ple, car ried out ever y five year s, is m a r k e d , a s w e n o t e d e a r li er , by i n a de qu a t e re wa r d s for t h e m i dd le -r a n k in g un iver sit ies wh ose r esea rch out pu t is im pr oving. The fun ding is going to th e top places to safegu a r d h igh es t qu a lit y r es ea r ch . 66 T h is is th e h ypocrit ical pa ra dox of t h e Wh i te P a pe r , t h a t it h a p p i l y e xa l t s t h e fine B r it i sh con t r ibu t ion t o t h e cr e a t ion a n d re pr odu ction of kn owle dge , w it h ou t s u f fi ci e n t l y st r e s s ing t h e a c a d e m i c é li t i s m on wh ich t h is success is in evit ab ly b a s e d , an élitism w h ich e ls e wh e r e it nev e r ce a s e s t o a t t a ck , a n d then , without pa usin g to take br eath , concentra tes r e s ea r ch f u n d i n g on ‘w o r ld c la s s ’ i n s t i t u t i o n s . T h e w e a k e s t u n i v e r s i t i es , however, mus t su rely be even more d is cou r aged t h a n t h e m i dd le -a ch i ev er s , by t he ir low r an kin g, however mu ch they st ru ggle. We r e p ea t th at t he wea ker u n iversities s h ou l d seek link s w it h t h e str onger via e xt e r n al examin er n et w or k s an d eve n b y act ua l exte rn al e xam ina t ion s set for th e lower by th e h ighe r in st itu tion , with grad ua ted con t r ib u t ion s fr om t h e for m e r a s i n di vi du a l d e p a r t m e n t s ma ke t he ne cessa ry g r a d e . T h e e xt e r n al degrees s et a t on e tim e f or l ow e r s t a t u s i n s t i t u t i o n s b y t h e U n i ve r s it y o f L on d o n w e r e n ot a b a d g e of int ell ect u a l m ediocrit y b u t a n obvious sour ce of academ ic int egrit y. Th e p r o ce s s o f b e t t e r i n s t i t u t i o n s en g a gi n g i n th e in t e ll ect u a l 65 Dickson, ‘UK un iversities an d the s tat e’, 2001, p. 27. 66 Guardian , 21 May 2002, p. 8.

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cer t ifica t ion of lesser ones would be a r a t ion a l p rocedu re , in w h ich intellectual a nd economic efficiency were th e s a m e t h in g . I n te r n a t i on a l t r e n d s B r i t i s h u n ive r si t y p r ovis ion wil l h a ve t o t a k e a c cou n t i n fu t u r e o f t h e i n t e r n a t i o n a l t r e n d s in u n ive r si t y p r ovis ion . T h e r e ar e m an y un ivers ities now t ha t a re lin kin g up i n te r n ation ally. T h e e m er g en ce of privat e, for-profit u n i ve r sities in som e cou n t r ies is ch a r a cte r i s e d by exp an sion via f r a n c h i s e .67 We ha ve touched on t h is a lr e a dy a n d i t i s n ow su re ly an option we m ight consider in t he UK. We app reci a t e t h a t t h e s it u a t ion of r oyal cha rt ers ma y req uir e lega l ch a n g e in t h is r eg a r d. It wou ld s u r e ly be pr ofit a ble for Br itis h un iversities t o t e a ch in con ju n cti on w it h i n s t it u t ion s in poorer coun tries. It would creat e revenu e for th em selve s a n d em pl oym e n t an d learn ing possibilities in th e poorer c ou n t r i e s , a n at ur al p rocess of co-oper at ive compa ra tive adva nt age. In s om e insta nces h a rd-pressed British s t u de n ts migh t even con s id er d oi n g t h e ir u n iv er s it y s t u di es in s u ch c ou n t r i e s . T on y Dick s on s a y s t h a t t h e s e a r ch for l ow e r u n it cos t s h a s been delibera te policy for 40 ye a r s . 68 W e r ep e a t t h a t a m ore r at iona l econom ic ap pr oach in th e n ea r fu tu re would be to a llow free m ar ket policies t o d eci de t h e d iffe r en t pr icing of d e gr ee s i n d i ff er e n t u n i v e r s i t i e s . L e t u s a l l o w t h e ma rket for h igh er ed u ca t ion to s et t le t h e va r iou s p r i c e s of higher edu cat ion ’s d i ff er e n t i a t e d p r o d u c t s . D ic k s on a l s o sa ys t h a t t h e a p p a r a t u s of a u d it a n d in s p ect ion h a s r en dered the s ystem r isk-averse—‘th e most int ru sive and ex p e n s ive au dit rég im e of an y high er edu cat ion s yst em in t h e w or l d ’.69 All t h is is witness t o a n e du ca t ion a l n o m e n k l a tu r a too p er ver se a n d b lin d or fri gh t en ed to h a v e q u ick r e c ou r s e t o m a r k e t s o lu t i o n s . 67 Tooley, ‘Editoria l: The futur e of higher educat ion in the UK’, 2001, p. 3. 68 Dickson , ‘UK u niver sitie s an d th e st at e’, 2001, p. 24 . 69 Dickson , ‘UK u niver sitie s an d th e st at e’, 2001, p. 25 .

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Let u s ab an don false p at tern s of edu ca tion Dick son s a ys t h e w o r l d p a t t e r n o f e d u c a t i on i s fo r t h e s t a t e t o bu ild u p p rim ar y edu cat ion, cau tiou sly follow th is wit h a n expan sion of secon d a r y edu cat ion a nd th en , an d on ly t h e n , to v en t u r e in t o h igh er ed u ca t ion . Gov er n m en t s s oon find t h is t o o e x p e n s i ve , h ow e v er , a n d w o r l d -w i d e t h e r e i s a r e s or t t o p r i v a t i s a t i on . T h i s d e s cr i p t i on o f t h e B r i t i s h e xp er ie n ce m a y perfectly relate t o a twent ieth-centur y e m u l a t or y tr en d, bu t n ever in ou r view one d riven by an y in t r i n s i c logic. T h e w or ld h a s le a r n ed lot s of good les son s from t h e W e s t ; in th is in st a n ce cle a r ly it h a s i n som e insta nces l ea r n e d bad ones an d often h ad t o unlear n th em. T h e s t a t e i n t r usion is wrong, unn ecessary, inefficient a nd t e n d s to be corr up tin g at all leve ls . As C ou l s on h a s a r g u e d , p r i va t e edu cat ion is h is t or ica lly t h e n or m for a ll s u cces sfu l l ea r n in g e xp e r im e n t s in a l l t h e e r a s of r ecorded h i s t or y .70 As E . G . We s t u s e d t o a r g u e , t h e e a r l i e s t a t t e m p t a t m a s s ed u ca t ion wa s t h e s u cces sfu l p r iva t e a n d s pon t a n eou s on e t h a t occu r r e d a s p a r t o f t h e p h e n o m e n o n o f i n d u s t r i a l i s a t i on its elf, in G r ea t B r it a in . 71 I t s ‘m a s s ’ ch a r a ct e r wa s n ot s u ch because it w a s p l a n n e d , but because m illi on s of p r iv a te ind ividu als decided t o sell k n ow l e d ge a n d s k i l l s in r e sp on se t o millions m ore wishing to buy th em. I t ca n b e s e e n a s a d e c is ion by ‘society’ only through the m ost brazen an d r e i fi e d pos t-h ocery . E d u c a t ion in t h e Br it is h n in e t ee n t h cen t u r y w a s a d va n cing pari passu wit h m oder nit y its elf, s h a r i n g i t s v ol u n t a r y ch a r a c t er , it s l oca lis ed pa t t er n s of p r odu cti on . T h e n inet e e n t h cent u r y m ora l pa nick er s, or d o-gooder s, a nd th eir s u bs eq u en t follow e r s in t h r a ll in t h e t w e n t ie t h a n d n ow t h e t w e n t y - fi r s t cen t u r ie s t o t h e m ill en n ia -old be lie f t h a t t h ey k n ow better t h a n t h e m a r k e t , h a v e over t h e last 13 decades , by e n s c on ci n g a s oci a li st a t a vi sm i n th e h ea r t of l ea r n in g a n d cu l t u r e, subvert ed t h e evol u t ion of s p on t a n e o u s m a r k e t a n d oth er pr ivat e ed uca tion al a ctivit ies . T h e y h a ve com 70 Andr ew J . Coulson , Market Ed ucation: the Unk nown H istory, Tran saction Pu blishers, 1999. 71 E.G. We st, Education and the State, IEA, 1970.

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pound ed t h e offe n ce b y p r e a ch i n g t o t h e r e s t of t h e w or l d t h e e r r on e ou s i m p er a t iv e s o f s t a t e p r o cu r e m e n t a n d pr ovis ion . E v er y wh er e now, h owever, t h e coloss a l cost of t h e t e r t ia r y va r iet y is ca u s in g t h e project t o com e u n st u c k , fi r s t a t t h e u n iver s i t y le v el a n d s u b s e q u e n t l y a t t h e s e c on d a r y a n d p r i m a r y l e v el s . W h a t we see, a n y wa y in t h is cou n t r y , un der t h e p r es s u r es of scar city, is a gra du al, r e lu ct a n t a n d r e se n t fu l ca p i t u la t i on t o ma rket imperatives. Th i s i s n ot t h e wisest spir it in w h ich t o r e s p o nd to an d oversee a delayed d e ve lop m e n t , b u t on e is for ce d t o a d m i t t h a t it i s b et t e r la t e t h a n n e ve r . We mu st d ispel the cl im at e of fear T h e contr ol of igno ble a ct ivities like mu rder , rape a nd larceny calls for p rim al fe a r a n d r e le n t le s s p u n i s h m e n t . E d u c a t ion , by cont ra st , is a noble act ivity. Wh at we n eed is t o dissipat e the climat e of fe a r a n d i rr it a t ion of t h e pr e se n t by b r ea k i n g u p t h e r égim e of au dit a n d r egu la ti on, a n d pl a cin g t h e bu r de n of re form on th e on e t h in g t h a t ca n shoulder i t: t h e fr e e m a r k e t. O n ly th e m a r k et h a s t h e a ggr ega t ed su bt let y of m illi on s of m i n ds , a n d t h e p ow e r t o g en e r a t e consensus, w h ich t h e m on u m e n t a l task of moder n ising our un iversities will requir e. T h e t h o r n y q u e s t i o n o f a n t i n o m i a n s u b j e c t -m a t t e r i n hig her ed uca tion Cons erva tive a d m in is t r a t i on s h a v e oft e n b ee n t e m p t ed t o move a ga in s t t h os e w h o t ea ch m a n ife s t ly a n ti n om i a n m a t e r ia l . Only ra rel y is it in t h e p ow e r of g ov er n m e n t s t o a ct dir ectly against t h e t e a ch i n g of offen sive subject-matt er . O n e su ch opp or t u n it y wa s t a ke n by a Con s erva tive govern m e n t , w h e n in t h e 1 98 0 s i t cu t o u t ‘t h e or y’ cou r se s fr om teacher e d u ca t ion . T h e ou t com e wa s t h a t th e offe n di n g c ou r s e s were cut, but th e them es in q ue st ion m er ely m i g r a t e d t o t h e m e t h o d s co u r s e s , th eir th eory b as e h avin g been r em oved . It is tr uly d ifficult in a fre e society t o move against a n t i n om i a n s u bje ct -m a t t e r when it h a s t h e s u p p o rt of a la r ge n um b er of a ca d em ics a n d o t h e r i n t e r e s t g r o u p s .

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M a n y of t h e b ig na m es from n e o- M a r x is m i n t h e 1 9 7 0 s a n d 1980s n ow h a v e ch a i r s . We co u ld su pp ly these na mes ea sily e n ou g h . W h a t is t h e p oi n t , t h ou g h ? They w e r e a l lo we d t o d o w h a t th ey chose. Why in a free s o ci e t y s h o u l d t h e y n o t ? I n a free s ociety one is a llowed t o be in th e wr ong in te lle ctu ally . E ven u n de r pr iva t e fin a n ce w e w ou ld st ill fin d F ou ca u l t a n d h is like bein g st ud ied. Th e differe nce is th at it is l e s s offensive when p r i va t e f u n d s a r e i n v ol ve d . Moreover , it is fair ly ce r t ai n t h a t un der pr iva t e fi n a n ce t h e a n t in om i a n s would far e less well. 72 T h e r e a r e f a i r l y s i m p l e a d m i n i s t r a t i v e c h a n g e s t ha t could h elp R efor m i n g govern men ts could, even so, i n it ia t e a n u mber of an cillar y policies t ha t could help, thr ough a m ixture of in t ell ect u a l a r g u m e n t a n d a r m - tw is t in g , t o t ou g h e n t h e in t ell ect u a l e n vi r on m e n t for s t u d e n t s i n t h e p r e -u n i ve r s it y s t a g e s . In pr im a r y a n d s econ da r y ed u ca t ion t h e p r e se n t fa vou r given to whole-class teaching a nd t he di s r e p u t e t o w h ich t h e ch i ld -ce n t r ed fa n t a s y h a s n ow fallen should be empha sised f u r t h e r . W e co u l d a l so r e in t r od u ce ‘O’ level a n d gen uin e ‘A’ leve l GC E , wi th ou t r e pe a t s a n d m od u la r s t r u c t u r e s . W e d o n o t fi n d t h e e n d l e s s repetit ion of stories of th e in t ell ect u a l s u pe r ior it y t o be fou n d i n th e s ch ool s of con t in e n t a l E u r ope es pe cia lly con vin cin g. W e d o a t th e s a m e t i m e a d m i r e th e in ter na tion al b acca lau re at e. Th is s h ou l d be in trodu ced wide ly a s a n alt ern at ive a n d a s a spu r t o ‘A’ lev els . Le t r ein t r odu cti on s a n d i n n ova t ion s a ll com p e t e on ev e n t e r m s w i t h t h e e x is t i n g a r r a n g e m e n t s . T h e su per ior m o d e s will in a few years out perform th e weaker ones. We n o t e t h a t t h e r e m a y h a v e t o be a degree of s t r on g-a r m 72 Th e com mon coun te rcla im th at in Am er ica s ome of th e m ost politically corre ct un iversit ies ar e priva te is t ru e. But th ere is priva te an d priva te. E ven t he m ost pr estigiou s pr ivate un iversit ies re ceive vast contributions from the public purse in America. And as Frum sugges ts, it is un likely th at th e stu dy of Foucau lt a nd h is ilk could survive without t he propping up it r eceives from th e taxpayer . See Fru m, ‘It’s Big Governm ent St upid’, 1994. For the genera l argum ent see O’Keeffe, Poli tica l Cor rect nes s an d P ub lic F in an ce, 1999.

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im pos it ion h er e. W h a t is n ee de d a s a n a r t icu la t e policy i s a d e li be r a t e a t t em p t t o m a k e t h e i n t el le ct u a l li fe of t h e weaker u n ivers ities mor e aca dem ic. They sh ould n ot h ave t o sp en d m u ch of th eir ti m e com pe n sa t in g for th e p oor p r im a r y an d se conda ry s chooling th eir s tu den ts ha ve re ceive d. Financia l an d t axa tion p olicies should be d oveta iled t o e n c ou r a g e h i g h e r s t a n d a r d s a n d m o r e r e c o u r s e t o p r i v a t e in s t it u t i on s We r e p ea t o u r su p p or t for t h e e n cou r a g e m e n t of p r i va t e edu cat ion by la r ge redu ctions in in come t ax an d propert y taxes a cr os s th e boa r d a n d g en e r ou s t a x a l lowa n ces for t h o s e wis h in g t o pu r ch a se pr iva t e e du ca t ion or t o e n d ow p r i va t e educat ion. We should encour age e m u l a t ion of t h e U n i ve r s it y of W a r wi ck ’s fi n e t r a ck r e cor d of i n cr e a si n g fina ncia l indepen dence. We s h ou l d en coura ge t h e est a blish m e n t , esp ecially fr om t he Un ited St at es, of mor e for-pr ofit universities. We also need t o e n cou r a ge t h e furth er de vel op m e n t of b a n k in g a n d i n su r a n c e s er vice s likely t o a i d p r iv a te h igh er ed u cat ion on i ts wa y. We r e pe a t t h a t t h e better un iversities could e a r n r e ve n ue by is s u ing extern al degrees of a rut hlessly super vised s t a n d a r d to st ud en ts of ancillar y institutions, s u ch a s ot h er u n i v e r s i t i es , inclu din g for-profit or conven tion al p riva te one s. We cou l d e n cou r a g e p r i va t e sch ools t o r e n t th eir premises ou t a s c e n t r e s fo r e ve n i n g d e g r e e c ou r s e s a n d v a ca t i on degree c ou r s e s t o privat e un iversities, for profit or other wise. B r i t i s h u n i v e r s i t i es s h o u l d d i ve r s i fy t h e i r h o ld i n g s , open ing un iversity colleges on a privat e en t e r pris e ba sis in p os t - co m m u n i s t Eu rop e a nd cert ain oth er low in com e societies with high aca dem ic poten tia l. The se m ight , w e r e p ea t , a l l ow l e s s w e ll - o ff B riti sh citizen s t o get t he ir British degrees elsewher e. B r i t i s h u n i ve r s it i es s h ou l d offe r w or k t o t h e ir s t u de n t bodies in p ar tia l set tlem en t of fees. We sh ould e ncour age m o r e A m e r i ca n a n d ot h e r for e ig n u n iv er s it ie s t o s et u p

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her e. N u m b e r s o f w r i t e r s , N i a ll F e r g u s on , 7 3 S ir G r a h a m Hills 74 a n d S ir Al a n P ea cock 75 exp r es s s om e h ope s for i n te r n et higher e du ca t ion . We are n ot ne cessa rily convert ed to t h is v iew ; bu t l et th e m a rk et de cide . Resea rch an d ot her t hor ny issu es Da vid H a lp er n opi n es th a t s t a t e-fu n de d r es ea r ch ca n p e r fectly ad equ at ely be disciplined by ‘r e s ea r ch coun cils a n d t h e like’.76 T h is is v er y dou bt ful. In socia l scien ce, a n d in t h e hu ma nities in p ar ticu lar , res ea rch coun cils ha ve been p a r t of th e pr oblem, n ot th e solut ion. Th ey did n ot h in g in t h e p a s t to co n t a in t h e Marxist a ffl a tu s a n d re ce n t ly h a ve don e n ot h in g t o stem t h e fr a n t i c com m i t m en t t o t h e an ti-civilisat ion a l fl ood t h a t h a s p ou r e d i n to ou r u n i ve r s it i es fr om Fr an ce. I t w ou l d h a ve be en b e tt e r h a d th ey n ot exis te d. At least t h e m on e y for th em w ou l d h a v e been s a v e d . T h is is n ot t o s a y t h a t govern men ts ca n n ot imp rove things. Th e govern m e n t ’s pr opos ed gr a de 6* ca te gor y for u n ivers ities doing ‘ world -class res ear ch’ ma y possibly h e l p ,77 t h ou g h we repea t t h a t w e d o n o t l ik e t h e ov er a l l r e s ea r ch a s s es s m e n t ex er cise, sin ce in t he l on g r u n p r iv a t e com p e t it i on i s fa r b e t t er t h a n r e l i a n c e on g o ve r n m e n t c a t e g or i e s . In rela tion to t he qu est ion t ha t t er rifies low- a n d m i d d l er a n k in g u n i v e r s i t ie s m o r e t h a n t h e i r r e s e a r c h s t a t u s , na mely t h e vicious a nd ina ccura te m onit orin g of the ir t e a ch i n g t h a t n o w t a k e s p la ce , H a l p er n i s r i gh t t o s a y t h a t sys t e m a t i c s ou n d in g of t h e students ’ opi n ion s w ou l d be m or e u s efu l to a sses sm en t t ha n t he ‘clum sy b u r e a u cr a t i c’ i n t er ven t ion s of occasional out siders. 78 T h is view is endorsed by

73 Fer guson in Tooley, Buckin gham at 25, 2001, pp. 185-88. 74 Hills, ‘Who Owns th e Univer sities?’ 2001, pp. 15-16. 75 Peacock, ‘How necessar y are u niversities?’, 2001, p. 10. 76 David Ha lper n, ‘Who shou ld pa y for HE ?’ in Tooley, Buckingham at 25, 2001, p. 266. 77 Th e Fu tu re of H igh er E du cati on , p. 30. 78

Ha lper n, ‘Who shou ld pa y for HE ?’ in Tooley, Buckin gham at 25, 2001, p. 267.

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t h e n e w W h it e P a p er . 79 A furth er s h a ft of econom ic light will p e n e t r a t e un iver sit y pr oceedings wh en , on t op of si gn ifica n t in ject ion s of p r iv a te f u n d s , a l l a ca d e m i c st a f f fa c e t h e in t r o d u c t i on o f l oc a l p a y b a r ga i n in g a n d p er for m a n ce-relat ed pay, a long delayed a n d n e ce s sa r y reform . We r ep ea t, h owev er , th a t t h e s y st em is n o t l ik e l y t o s ee t h e fu l l be n e fi t s of p r iv a te fu n d in g for s om e y ea r s y et . S o m e c o n cl u d i n g t h o u g h t s T h e n o t ion s t h a t t h e s t a t e m u s t s ig n ifi ca n t ly fun d higher e du ca t ion , engage in de t a ile d r egu la t ion of in st it u t ion s of lear n i n g a n d g en er a lly b e p r oa cti ve i n th e n a t ion ’s intellect u a l life , a ll fl y in t h e face of econ om ic logi c a n d h is t or ica l experience. S u c h a c t i vi t i e s a r e t h e s h a d ow y r e s id u e of t h e soci alis t aspir ations t ha t wrea ked su ch ha voc, sometimes m ur der ous ly s o , i n t h e t w e n t i e t h c e n t u r y . T h e s ocialist edu cat ion of the free societies is not th e sinister phen omen on we find in the s ocialism of w h ol e societies. B u t in t er m s of ru th less an d d ish ones t r en t-see kin g, of ideologica l p e r ve r s it y a n d ob s cu r a n t i s m , a n d of ob d u r a t e a n d u n c or rected er r o r f or d e c a d e s on end, t h e r e a r e m a n y overw he lm ing s i m i la r i t i e s . B r itish h i gh e r e d u c a t i o n i s by fa r t h e m o s t p r om i si n g pla ce to begin th e cour se of ne cessa ry e conomic a n d int ellectu al corr ection . It w ill ta ke p olitical le ad er sh ip prepa red t o d is t a n ce its elf from t he spin a n d show-busines s du plicity of r e ce n t gov er n m e n ts t o set t h e ch a n g es p r oper ly in m ot ion .

79 Th e Fu tu re of H igh er E du cati on , p. 47.

Glossa ry of Ter m s A Afflat us A n t in o m ia n

creative inspiration, often of an exulting kind. dis lik ing or d ist ru st ing law an d t ra dit ion.

C C a li br a t e

mea sur e pre cisely.

D D y sf u n ct i on a l

having adverse effects contrary to intentions and agreed purposes.

E

E d u cr a t

edu cat ion al fat -cat or s en ior bu re au cra t.

I

In te llect ion

int elle ctu al a ctiv ity or ce re br at ion.

M M a lf u n ct i on a l Ma rk et isa tion

N N e xu s N o m en k l a t u ra

R Reified

S

failing to achieve specified goals and agreed standar ds. pr ocess wh er eby g oods a nd ser vices pr eviou sly n ot produced and sold under mar ket conditions are increasingly so produced and sold. lin k(s ) or con ne cti on s(s ). originally meant the ‘listed’, ‘named’ persons e n t i t le d t o b e m em b e r s of t h e é l it e s in E u r o pe a n Communist countries; by extension any corru pt and ideologically closed élite. wrongly treat ed as possessing real, concrete existence; attributed mistakenly with a thingness. By d efin it ion th is m ost ly r efer s t o ide as th at cri ti cs ta ke t o be misu sed or fa lse or a t lea st pr oblema tic but en dowed with misleading solidity, ideas like ‘dem ocracy’, ‘society’, ‘progr ess’ etc. It is n ot us ua lly implied that t here are no proper uses of these words.

Relativism

the doctrine that there a re no universal sta ndards of knowledge and value.

S ch u m p e t e r ia n

in the t radition of the great centra l European economist Joseph Alois Schumpet er.

Sta sis

sta te of ter min al pa ra lysis, decay or incapa city.

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