Both/And Instead of Either/Or

Abstract

On both questions about the political makeup of academia and conservative activism on educational issues, Gross makes definitive causal claims. He postulates a variation of self-selection that relies on political typing of occupations. On conservative activism he argues that moral entrepreneurs utilize animosity towards progressives in higher education to express a populist ideology uniting distinct elements within the conservative movement. As it concerns potential political bias, I argue that self-selection and barriers of discrimination and bias both play important roles in producing progressive academic institutions. On issues of conservative activists’ attention to educational issues, I contend that concern about progressive academics is both a unifying populist message and a realistic assessment of a political threat. I largely agree with the content of Gross’s finding but disagree with the degree the processes he outlines answers these two research questions. I have a both/and approach whereby other factors must be taken into consideration. Ideally future research will assess not only the different factors within these answers, but also which factors have the most explanatory power relative to other factors.