Thread by @ErikAngner

Conservatives attacking the modern University might wish to reflect on the fact that it has got to be one of the most successful spontaneous orders of all time. /1

It's spontaneous in the sense that although it is the result of human action, it is not the result of human design. It's not as though the current mode of organization was envisioned and intended back when the University was founded in the 12th century. /2

It's successful in the sense that it has spectacular staying power. The University (still going strong at ~900 years of age) is older than the nation state (~400 years), the stock market (~250 years), and the corporation (~200 years). /3
britannica.com/topic/universi…

Nobody believes the University is perfect. But the fact that it's such a fantastically successful order should make it, to conservatives, worthy of respect and admiration. /4

Its staying power should temper our desire for radical reform – lest we want to be Adam Smith's "man of system," who believes he can rearrange human society in the manner that a chess player moves the pieces across the board. /5 oll.libertyfund.org/title/smith-th…

Thoughtful reform is welcome, even to a true conservative, but it must at all times be slow, deliberate, moderate, and piecemeal. Only then can we respect the wisdom inherent in existing forms of social organization. /6

Conservatives must not let their disdain for individual academics – and their political views – get in the way of their commitment to these fundamental principles. /fin

PS. The new "University of Austin" is an online debate society – not a university in any ordinary sense of the term – and as such more of a stunt than a threat to existing institutions. This is fine! It's just that the rhetoric is uncalled for.

https://twitter.com/SomewhereinATX/status/1457702451616813064?s=20

This great thread by @mikekofoed picks up where I left off. Please read it all:

https://twitter.com/mikekofoed/status/1458055477573586946?s=20