The economics of trade are difficult to grasp -- somehow counter-intuitive. Students in a trade class might benefit from a brief section on what the mercantilists of yore believed, what modern mercantilists believe and why, and the benefits and costs of implementing mercantilism. "Leftist" economist Christian Parenti praises tariffs in his book, Radical Hamilton: Economic Lessons, as does future Trump Treasury Secretary Robert Lighthizer in all his work. Could students consider this work and learn something from it? I fear that what I propose would run the risk of having the instructor fired in Indiana and many other states.
It seems to be an article of faith among 'conservatives' in the US that universities are filled with leftists who are brainwashing impressionable young minds. For example, it only took a few seconds of a web search to come up with the following example of this:
"An ex-Communist Romania-born academic recently left his tenured position at Columbia University because the Ivy League school is 'on its way toward full blown communism.'
"The latest study of American campuses shows that nearly 40% of the colleges surveyed did not have one professor on their faculty who identified as a Conservative. Yet, some still say Socialist indoctrination of classroom politics is a right-wing fabrication?"
The idea of enlisting students to denounce professors who are not including the 'right' ideas is reminiscent of the Cultural Revolution. What next? Struggle sessions and dunce caps?
Probably the safest course of action, particularly after the next election, would be for all professors to put The Art of the Deal on their reading lists.
The economics of trade are difficult to grasp -- somehow counter-intuitive. Students in a trade class might benefit from a brief section on what the mercantilists of yore believed, what modern mercantilists believe and why, and the benefits and costs of implementing mercantilism. "Leftist" economist Christian Parenti praises tariffs in his book, Radical Hamilton: Economic Lessons, as does future Trump Treasury Secretary Robert Lighthizer in all his work. Could students consider this work and learn something from it? I fear that what I propose would run the risk of having the instructor fired in Indiana and many other states.
It seems to be an article of faith among 'conservatives' in the US that universities are filled with leftists who are brainwashing impressionable young minds. For example, it only took a few seconds of a web search to come up with the following example of this:
"An ex-Communist Romania-born academic recently left his tenured position at Columbia University because the Ivy League school is 'on its way toward full blown communism.'
"The latest study of American campuses shows that nearly 40% of the colleges surveyed did not have one professor on their faculty who identified as a Conservative. Yet, some still say Socialist indoctrination of classroom politics is a right-wing fabrication?"
The idea of enlisting students to denounce professors who are not including the 'right' ideas is reminiscent of the Cultural Revolution. What next? Struggle sessions and dunce caps?
Probably the safest course of action, particularly after the next election, would be for all professors to put The Art of the Deal on their reading lists.