The prominent culture warrior and DeSantis supporter Christopher Rufo had a column in the NYT a few days ago which made the following points:
- His objective is to eliminate cancel culture in state universities and restore freedom of thought, not to enforce reactionary ideology on the students and faculty; and
- It is appropriate for state governments to use their political and legal powers to make sure that state universities reflect the values of the voters.
Are his arguments plausible? Here is what I think:
- The overall record in Florida makes it crystal clear that the ultimate objective is to stifle left-wing opinion, not just to create safe spaces for conservatives. DeSantis believes in a veto for reactionary hecklers, not freedom of inquiry.
- While Rufo’s argument that educational systems should reflect the values of the voters makes sense, it raises questions that he doesn’t bother to answer. Why should the will of state voters control over both national and local voters, particularly in the case of secondary education? Should the financial power of the federal government be used to overturn the values of either blue or red state voters? What happens to education when the apparent opinions of the voters change? Aren’t the employees of educational institutions entitled to some say as to how they are run? If not, as a practical matter, how are all of them going to be kept in line and replaced, as necessary?
In short, these issues are far more complicated than Rufo would have you believe.