Only at the University of Chicago.
A while back, the university made plans to start a Milton Friedman Institute. It has been the source of some controversy.
The latest installment is reported in the student newspaper, the Chicago Maroon.
The beginning of the article is a little boring — but definitely read to the end, which is priceless.
Chris Salata, Chicago Maroon“
and 
. You can also watch it on 
Perhaps Hickman was suggesting an application of the Phillips Curve.
It’s a problem in government, business, and academic institutions: We want more of like-minded individuals, and less of the other.
But this serves to close minds, not open them. For there is not real marketplace of ideas, no thesis/anti-thesis (leftists should be ashamed).
We think we are protecting things, but what we are doing is setting ourselves up for irrelevance. Eventually, nobody takes you seriously, after all, to the world’s eyes you are completely biased. You become something like the ACLU–an organiztion that is so baised to the left that only the left takes is seriously.
Is there any way to combat it? Sure, but it would be a killer.
Maybe we need a couple of organization to choose professors. One group is liberal the other is conservative…and each vets a group of professors for, say, a certain department…and the school must pick as many from one group as they pick from the other group.
That would perhaps ensure more balance and a hetter marketplace of ideas.
Until then, we’ll have “liberal” universities and “conservative” ones, since if people can’t find balance, they are then forced to pick a side.
Haha! I bet it’s even funnier if you know these guys personally.
So the man’s speaking the truth, what’s the big deal?
Egotism and academia go together like supply and demand.
Wouldn’t a Milton Friedman institute be charted to study, publish and promote the ideas of its namesake?
It should be populated with those who will follow that charter. It should also be in public debate with other schools of economic thought.
The question is, why did the writer/editor bury that at the end of the article? Does the school newspaper not understand and operate under free-market capitalistic principles?
Gotta love tenure — you just don’t get that level of honesty when someone’s worried about getting fired for speaking truth to power.