This was originally published in 2011 at the now-defunct Class Matters blog. It marked a new path of thought for me, questioning everything I'd been taught about education.
I dedicate this to the tenured faculty members who grumbled privately about academic labor practices but chose silence in public. All that privilege and they were just chickenshits. I could also title this: My Marxist professors live in million-dollar homes.
Neoliberalism is as much a problem as anything in our systems, but it is particularly extractive and values individuals based on their market potential. Neoliberalism has worked with neoconservatism to undermine and weaken Democracy by shifting power from public institutions to private interests ($$$), and by suppressing dissent in the name of security.
