I am reading “The Prince” (I would say rereading but it has been so long since I first read it, I don’t think I get to call it “rereading”.) and I came across this quote that I think applies to today’s universities:
“…he who would keep a city accustomed to freedom will hold it more easily by the means of its own citizens than in any other way…” Machiavelli has just described the three ways to keep a principality, one of which is “…to permit them to live under their own laws, drawing a tribute, and establishing within it an oligarchy which will keep it friendly to you…”
Is the tribute keeping student “consumers” happy and fooled into believing they are getting a much better education than they really are? Is the oligarchy the senior faculty who could easily rise up against you? Is this oligarchy kept friendly with offers of lower teaching duties, lower committee duties, money, the offer to hire them collegues that they could do research with,…?
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