The Koch brothers' pay-to-play academic scheme

Charles Koch and the Marxist reason for buying economist departments

Recently revealed documents demonstrate that the Charles Koch Foundation has purchased influence over the hiring and firing of faculty at George Mason University. These came out due to a Freedom of Information Act lawsuit filed by a former student, and detail how in return for millions in donations, the foundation would get two out of five seats on boards overseeing decisions of hiring and firing professors. University President Angel Cabrera, who had previously insisted that "academic freedom is never for sale. Period," now had to shamefacedly admit that the arrangements "fall short of the standards of academic independence I expect any gift to meet."

There is a lot that is noteworthy in this development. But one particularly striking aspect of this pay-to-play academic scheme is how closely it follows the most simplistic Marxist conception of ruling class ideology.

Subscribe to The Week

Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

SUBSCRIBE & SAVE
https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/flexiimages/jacafc5zvs1692883516.jpg

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

Sign up
To continue reading this article...
Continue reading this article and get limited website access each month.
Get unlimited website access, exclusive newsletters plus much more.
Cancel or pause at any time.
Already a subscriber to The Week?
Not sure which email you used for your subscription? Contact us
Ryan Cooper

Ryan Cooper is a national correspondent at TheWeek.com. His work has appeared in the Washington Monthly, The New Republic, and the Washington Post.