Being an American leftist on the fringes, in the socialist/internationalist vein, can be a lonely proposition, so it’s tempting to let lefty publications slide. But I simply have no patience for the parlor radicals at n+1, the post-Marxist (or whatever) band of literary types who deign to gift the world with their advanced commentary. Today, the editors published another screed against credentialism, elitism, and the university. The timing of their distaste for the elite and our higher educational system is convenient: they’ve discovered this distaste for the university after their Harvard, Columbia, and Wesleyan degrees have opened so many doors for them. The American Circus had them pegged months ago.
Convenient timing, that is, with a small exception: I happen to know, through the grapevine, that two of these he-man opponents of meritocracy and credentialism applied and were admitted to Harvard’s American Studies PhD program, which like all of Harvard’s doctorate programs is insanely competitive. This happened in just this past admissions cycle.
I wonder if their principled hatred of credentialism, meritocracy, and the university found its way into their statements of purpose.