Neoliberalism, Neopopulism, and Democracy in Decline: The University Under Attack on Multiple Fronts

• In Event: U.S. Higher Ed: A Peculiar Institution

Abstract

This chapter seeks to provide a framework for analyzing the neopopulist approach to higher education policy, comparing and contrasting it with the more established neoliberal approach. It argues that there are more similarities than one might, at first, predict and that both have become powerful forces seeking to undermine the broader and potentially more radical aims of colleges and universities while contributing to the current crisis of democracy experienced across much of the Western world, and beyond. While critiques of neoliberal educationa policy continue to dominate the literature, the author contends that we must take the neopopulist challenge more seriously, particularly given its effectiveness in further delegitimating the university and its role in serving the whole student, democracy, social justice and the common good.

Author

• Richard VanHeertum, New York Film Academy