THE POLITICS OF IGNORANCE
CASINO CAPITALISM AND HIGHER EDUCATION
by HENRY GIROUX
OCTOBER 31, 2011
"[H]igher education is increasingly defined as another core element of
corporate power and culture. Public spaces such as libraries are detached
from the language of public discourse and viewed increasingly as a waste of
taxpayers' money. The dominant media is simply an adjunct of corporate
advertising and ideology while also trading in the idiocy of celebrity
culture. No longer vibrant political spheres and ethical sites, public
spaces are reduced to dead spaces in which it becomes almost impossible to
construct those modes of knowledge, communication, agency, and meaningful
interventions necessary for an aspiring democracy. Ignorance is now the
political and cultural currency of choice and provides the foundation for an
ongoing neoliberal attack on the social state, workers, and unions, matched
by a full-fledged assault on higher education."
corporate power and culture. Public spaces such as libraries are detached
from the language of public discourse and viewed increasingly as a waste of
taxpayers' money. The dominant media is simply an adjunct of corporate
advertising and ideology while also trading in the idiocy of celebrity
culture. No longer vibrant political spheres and ethical sites, public
spaces are reduced to dead spaces in which it becomes almost impossible to
construct those modes of knowledge, communication, agency, and meaningful
interventions necessary for an aspiring democracy. Ignorance is now the
political and cultural currency of choice and provides the foundation for an
ongoing neoliberal attack on the social state, workers, and unions, matched
by a full-fledged assault on higher education."
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