Ideological Imbalance in Academia Worse Than Many Critics Believe

The article, published on Reason.com, analyzes a thread by Tyler Austin Harper of The Atlantic, who challenges progressive academics to acknowledge that academia is often closed to non-progressive perspectives. The author argues that Harper understates the problem. While Harper notes conservative views are well-represented at places like George Mason University, the author counters that such representation is limited to small enclaves (law school, economics department) within a large, overwhelmingly left-wing university. The author also debunks the myth that economics departments are right-wing bastions, citing studies showing a 3-4.5:1 Democrat-to-Republican ratio and that only 8% of American Economic Association members are free-market supporters. The piece concludes that the ideological imbalance is severe, and that a right-leaning student would be 'career-suicidal' to pursue academia in fields like anthropology or history unless they hide their views.