The Mess at Mizzou

The Fracas at the University of Missouri by Prof. Walter E. Block

I had a dream the other night, that I was president of Loyola University, and faced with the challenges that confronted Tim Wolfe, the now ex-president of the University of Missouri. But don’t get worried: I have no intention of taking up any such office; it would interfere with my research, writing and publication. In any case, I am not sure Loyola is quite ready for a Jewish atheist as its leader.

In any case, what would I do if I were in Mr. Wolfe’s shoes?  Here are the demands made of him, interspersed with my responses to them.

<< If “social justice” means justice applied to social issues, everything I said above is fully compatible with this philosophy. But, if it is equivalent to egalitarianism, as it all too often is, it is a snare and a delusion; it constitutes a veritable rights violation. The reason we do not have equality of anything, whether in sports or intellectual pursuits, is because of unequal abilities. I note that all of the people making these demands are blessed with two eyes. If you people (I use this phrase advisedly) really favored egalitarianism, you would have given up one of them to a blind person. Since even you do not take seriously these misbegotten principles you appear to avow, why should I?

A word to the coaches of the Mizzou football team: You are on record as threatening to refuse to participate in the next scheduled game. If you do so, as The Donald would say, “You’re fired.” You are contract breakers. If you do not uphold your end of our employment agreement, neither will I. A word to the members of the Mizzou football team: You are on record as threatening to refuse to participate in the next scheduled game.  If you do so, you will lose your athletic scholarships. You, too, are contract breakers. If you do not uphold your end of our agreement, neither will I. If you cannot pay your tuition fees without these scholarships, you will not be continued at Mizzou as students. I wish you all the best of luck when you leave Mizzou. Do not let the door hit you on the rear end as you depart.

One would think that I am appalled with the results of the Mizzou situation; after all, cultural Marxism won an important battle in the war over ideas. In the event, I am, rather, ambivalent about the entire episode. Yes, the forces of unreason were indeed triumphant, but this occurred on the campus of a public university. This type of ownership pattern is pure socialism. Lovers of liberty cannot help but be delighted that an illicit institution was brought down a peg or two. All too many libertarians see the Mizzou episode as an unmitigated disaster (an otherwise unqualified black man has just been appointed interim president). This is an error. We also have to place in the asset column the fact that a public university received a kick in its intellectual solar plexus. To not do so is to make the same mistake Ayn Rand made when she reacted negatively to the student rebellion at Berkeley University, many moons ago.

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