A New Look at the Left Wing

I think the vertical cuts demanded at UNLV that produced this move are characteristically neoliberal. Instead of across-the-board cutbacks for the sake of ostensibly temporary ‘belt-tightening,’ the assumption is probably that these permanent cuts will make the university a leaner, more efficient machine. Additionally, the immediate removal of tenured and untenured faculty alike is a way to reduce the collective bargaining power of the professors, and it sends a powerful message to faculty in other departments. The swift elimination of two subjects with (arguably) the greatest ability to think critically about life and society does not bode well for universities elsewhere in the United States.