Academic Freedom and Society: Intellectual Critique or Violent Revolution?

Abstract:

Authoritarians restrict academic freedom as if the choice were between dissent and obedience. Such attempts can be momentarily effective in curtailing opposition, but as the deputy chairman of the national Black Panther Party, Fred Hampton, explained prior to his assassination, “You can kill a revolutionary, but you can never kill the revolution.” Limiting academic freedom is folly if the choice is not between dissent and obedience but between intellectual critique of illiberal regimes of power and violent revolution. The role of academic freedom in society extends beyond the confines of higher education to the core of democracy and social justice. Reactionary responses against academic freedom are on the rise. Academics need to speak out now, peacefully and with informed reason, while they can, as failure to safeguard academic freedom will likely bring the silence of subjugation, informed resistance, and violent revolution.

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