White Supremacy 2.0: DeSantis’s Big Brother Assault on Higher Education

The white supremacy of 2023 looks very different than it did prior to the civil rights era. As a nation, we’ve traded Klan robes and open celebrations of segregation for more subtle, and as a result more insidious efforts to erase discussions of racism from public memory. Such is the case with the recent efforts in Florida to dismantle any lingering educational commitment to the studying racial inequality. Florida Governor Ron DeSantis has announced that he wants a “core curriculum” for the state’s public universities. He is calling for changes that “would mandate courses in Western civilization, eliminate diversity programs and reduce the protections of tenure.” DeSantis is demanding reforms in order to challenge “woke ideology,” “from gender-neutral bathrooms to diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) departments in schools,” while focusing his ire on universities. These efforts, he claims, will disrupt “ideological conformity” in the academy. It doesn’t take much imagination to figure out that he’s talking about dismantling the parts of the college experience that are grounded in liberal or progressive values, and imposing rightwing values in their place, as mandated by the state. In one recent example, DeSantis reportedly targeted New College of Florida, admonishing the school for teaching critical race theory (CRT) and “gender theories.”

DeSantis is drawing on his recent success in forcing reactionary reforms in K-12 education, as he seeks to impose new changes in higher education. Most prominently, the state’s College Board embraced a scorched earth assault on advanced placement curriculum for African American Studies, having “purged the names of many Black writers and scholars associated with critical race theory, the queer experience and Black feminism,” while eliminating from discussion topics such as the Black Lives Matter movement and elevating the study of “Black conservatism.” These changes represent a blatant and shameless rightwing indoctrination campaign, drawing on authoritarian and fascist principles that idealize white supremacy and a war on critical thought. This is not about removing bias and protecting objectivity in the classroom. DeSantis is happy to privilege conservative political views (“Black conservatism”), while blacklisting progressive perspectives. This is the propaganda of omission in service of white supremacy. Discussion of movements that spotlight America’s longstanding history of institutional racism in policing are now verboten, with students barred from learning about the tragedy of American racism.

At the core of this assault on education is the assumption that educators – particularly college professors – are radical and anti-American in their politics, seeking to pervert and poison the minds of young, impressionable students. This suspicion of higher education drives Florida’s recent introduction of an ideology test for college professors, which DeSantis claims is vital to gauge the extent to which universities provide “intellectual freedom and viewpoint diversity” in the learning experience. Popular discussions of bias in higher education have historically relied on surveys demonstrating that college professors and college-educated voters are more likely to identify as Democrats or vote for Democratic candidates over Republicans.

Much of the public has fallen into rightwing attacks on education, via the now mainstreamed suspicion of professors and universities. And while rightwing political actors have long sought to undermine educational institutions, the Trumpian era is intensifying the war on higher education. Consider, for example, Pew Research Center polling over the last decade. In 2010, nearly six in ten Republicans (58 percent) had a positive perception of higher education. By 2017, that had fallen to 36 percent, with 58 percent of Republicans holding a negative perception of the academy. By 2021, just 34 percent of Republicans had a positive view of colleges and higher education – a decline of 24 percentage points from 2010. Similarly, Republican trust in medical researchers and scientists also fell, coinciding with Trump’s assaulton these groups. Republican confidence in medical researchers fell from 88 percent in 2016 to 66 percent by 2021, while confidence in scientists fell from 72 to 63 percent – 22 and 9 percentage points declines respectively. Considering the larger political attack on sources of expertise with the potential to challenge Republican disinformation on medical vaccines, climate change, and other crucial issues, it’s unsurprising to see that 48 percent of Democrats, 72 percent of Republicans, and 59 percent of adults lament that “politics on college campuses lean toward one particular viewpoint,” with Republicans more likely to complain that colleges are “too political or too liberal.”

It’s important to emphasize just how central the battle over bias in higher education is to U.S. political discourse. Entire generations of students with rightwing parents are being socialized as they enter college to be suspicious of professors before they even step foot in a classroom. In my experience teaching the last few years, I’ve seen numerous students in the Trumpian era with rightwing preconceptions that professors who promote critical thought, challenge Republican anti-science propaganda, or value evidence-based reasoning are the enemy.

The sustained attack on educators contributes to a culture of anti-intellectualism that stifles critical thought. Professors feel they must watch what they say, how they teach, and what they research for fear of being accused of “bias.” The results of this reactionary attack on the academy are apparent in the classroom. Most professors are reluctant to talk about their beliefs, and to acknowledge to students how our biases influence our teaching. Sociologists refer to the practice of being open about one’s biases and preconceptions as “positionality.” We all have biases, faculty and students included, that inevitably impact how we view and experience the world, the sorts of research questions we’re interested in, and the ways we go about studying them. But only by being open about our “position” in this world can students factor in professorial biases, and hopefully become more aware of their own biases, as part of the learning process. With the rightwing assault on the academy, these sorts of open exchanges as a part of knowledge generation become all but impossible.

The question of “liberal indoctrination” in higher education has occupied much of my energy over the last few years. As a college student for 14 years, and a professor for the last 18 years, I find protests about liberal bias to be absurd in a higher education environment that long ago instituted neoliberal “professionalized” norms that discourage professors from engaging in critical or public-facing work. These activities count for very little in the hiring, tenure review, and promotion processes. The culture of neoliberal professionalism beats it into professors’ heads that they must avoid saying “controversial” or “critical” things, for fear that questions will be raised about their commitment to “neutrality” and “objectivity.” Far from being a hotbed of liberal politics, radicalism, or anti-Americanism, colleges are anything but. The neoliberal assault on higher education has intensified the pacification of faculty, with predictable consequences via the suppression of progressive voices and dissent against the status quo.

In the post-truth era, where truth is whatever one wants it to be, my professional reflections on the state of the academy probably won’t count for much with Americans who are propagandized to believe education is the enemy, and that overbearing, overfed, complacent professors are leading a crusade against America. But the evidence to challenge claims of liberal bias is not simply anecdotal. Echoing my personal experiences, the findings from DeSantis’s new college survey reveal that most faculty respondents describe themselves as moderate, with a larger number identifying as conservative than liberal. This is hardly surprising. In all my time in the neoliberal academy, the vast majority of professors I’ve known have indulged in anodyne, mainstream scholarship, while privately expressing milquetoast liberal values that are safely removed from their teaching and research activities.

I’ve dedicated much of my time in recent years to studying education itself as a political variable, to better understand its effect on public opinion. My previous work, examining national polling data and hundreds of social, economic, and political attitudes during the 2000s and 2010s, finds little evidence that there’s a pervasive liberal bias when for individuals with college degrees. Other social scientific research comes to the same conclusion.

To update this research, I examined dozens of political questions in recent national opinion surveys, measuring the extent to which Americans with college degrees are more likely to share liberal-left and progressive political beliefs compared to those without a college education. I draw here on three national surveys from the Pew Research Center – from September 2019, July-August 2020, and March 2021, which included 50 survey questions measuring Americans’ attitudes about U.S. economic issues and economic policy, socio-cultural policy and opinions about U.S. society and politics, and overall trust in government. These questions asked Americans about all types of attitudes.

+ For economic issues and economic policy, Pew asked about potential government efforts to better fund health care, to reduce economic inequality, to regulate corporations and protect the environment, to provide for adequate housing for the needy, to provide for quality K-12 education, to institute a universal basic income system and a higher minimum wage, to better fund (and provide free tuition) for college, to provide adequate retirement incomes for the elderly, to reduce inequality by increases taxes on the wealthy, to expand Medicare to younger Americans, to eliminate college debts, to expand government assistance for the poor, and to break up large, monopolistic corporations.

Pew also asked about people’s economic perceptions outside of politics, including their opinions about whether labor unions, banks, large corporations, health insurance corporations, and the wealthy have too much power and influence. Finally, Pew asked about how much various factors contribute to growing inequality, including: over-regulation and under-regulation of large corporations, some people working harder than others, some people making poor life choices, some being born with more opportunities than others, and discrimination against people of color.

+ For socio-cultural policy and opinions about U.S. society and politics, Pew surveyed Americans about whether people of color and women still face obstacles to get ahead, about the advantages that whites have compared to people of color, and about the proper scope of what the U.S. Supreme Court should allow government to do (closer to, or further from what the early Constitution and courts allowed). The surveys also gauged suspicion of immigrants, distrust of Islam and Muslims, support for the death penalty, support for the government declaring the U.S. a Christian nation, advocating Christian values, putting an end to the separation of church and state, allowing the use of religious symbols in public settings, and allowing for public school prayer. Pew looked at opinions about reducing unauthorized immigration, regulating gun ownership, about whether America is successful because it sticks to tradition or is able to change, and attitudes about the legitimacy/illegitimacy of focusing on the United States’ “historical flaws.”

+ On government trust, Pew asked Americans about whether they thought the federal government should be more involved in preventing the spread of Covid-19, about whether government should be more involved in helping solve various problems (or if they are better left to businesses and individuals), and about overall trust levels in the federal government.

Utilizing statistical regression analysis, I look for evidence of significant positive relationships between increased educational attainment (for those with a bachelor’s or graduate degree), and increased likelihood that one holds liberal-left political attitudes. To the extent that these relationships exist, I document them after statistically accounting (or “controlling”) for other variables, including respondents’ age, race, income, gender, political party identification, and ideological orientation.

Starting with a bird’s eye view of the findings, higher education is affiliated with being significantly more likely to hold conservative and rightwing positions for 15 of the 50 questions examined. For an almost equal number of questions – 16 – higher education is associated with being more likely to hold liberal-left opinions. Finally, for a plurality of questions – 19 – higher education is not associated with being more likely to hold liberal or conservative positions. There is no clear pattern here to demonstrate a liberal indoctrination effect of higher education on the public at large. A closer examination of the results provides greater clarity in understanding some of the ways higher education may be impacting public opinion in America.

It’s not possible from correlational tests to identify for certain whether higher education-based socialization makes someone more liberal or rightwing. But the evidence here suggests that, for close to a third of the questions examined (15), those with higher degree achievements are significantly more likely to be conservative. All 15 of these questions pertained to economic issues and economic policy, although higher education is associated with liberal attitudes for three of the economic questions examined. That higher education is overwhelmingly associated with economic conservatism may be an indication that the neoliberalization of higher education is having a significant effect. By valuing education for its potential to confer degrees, train future workers, contribute to higher earnings among college graduates, and enhance the capitalist economy, education may be significantly impacting the way college graduates think about the world.

Alternatively, it may be that the process of education socializes people to value upward economic mobility, with affluence in America being associated with an increased likelihood of expecting “my slice of the pie.” Plausibly, as students enter the workforce, improve their income potential, and accrue wealth, they become more self-oriented in their thinking. This emphasis on material affluence and increased well-being may cause them to look at the world in conservative ways, overlapping with the trend of higher income Americans being more rightwing in their politics.

Education is also significantly linked to holding liberal opinions on socio-cultural issues. Thirteen of the 16 regressions in which higher education is linked to liberal attitudes are in the area of socio-cultural policy. For none of these survey questions was higher education associated with conservative attitudes. One explanation for this might be that professors excel at inculcating students with liberal opinions, but only on socio-cultural issues, not on economic ones. But without a solid reason for suspecting educational indoctrination to be so inconsistent and narrow, it’s difficult to take this possibility seriously. Alternatively, and more likely in my estimation, these liberal effects may be the product of the larger rightwing war on education and evidence-based reasoning, which could be polarizing college graduates in the opposite direction to value scientific and evidence-based modes of thinking, and to question rightwing faith-based reasoning that places a cultist faith in political leaders like Trump.

Based on my examination of Pew’s data, no reasonable assessment of higher education should entertain the position that it is guilty of a systematic campaign of liberal indoctrination against students. Critics of U.S. higher education have implicitly relied on flawed assumptions, including:

1) Conflating party with ideology by assuming that because most professors are Democrats, they must hold liberal views.

2) Assuming without evidence that, because professors are heavily Democratic in orientation, they are openly and explicitly using their classrooms as liberal indoctrination chambers.

3) Assuming without evidence that professors’ political orientations impact what college graduates believe, as pertaining to their political and ideological values.

Beyond the myth of education being a bastion for radical-left politics, there’s the larger question of what purpose is served by rightwing efforts to villainize professors and the academy. The Republican right under Trumpism has committed itself to a war with all forms of expertise that are not already conjoined with the Republican Party apparatus and its army of media pundits. Whether it’s natural scientists, social scientists, medical researchers, journalists, pollsters, or any other experts, the goal is to marginalize any institution in America that could potentially serve as a counterweight to the Republican Party’s propaganda messages. The goal is to undermine the credibility of any major institution that might pose a threat – today or in the future – to the Republican Party’s credibility.

The assault on BLM, CRT, and other efforts to spotlight racial, gender, and economic inequality is geared toward destroying Americans’ ability to think in critical ways that will challenge neoliberalism, misogyny, and white supremacy. This is the stuff of fascism – particularly the authoritarian efforts from Big Brother to monitor everything taught to students. The rightwing attack on education entails broad-based initiatives to control K-12 and college curricula and teaching, and to monitor faculty research, publications, and teaching to stomp out any trace of critical analysis and pedagogy. The goal is to stigmatize learning itself, as well as critical thought, via the idealization of useful idiocy as a civic virtue. Educators, students, and the public at large have a responsibility to fight back against these rightwing indoctrination efforts. Failing to do so means the death of democracy.

Appendix of Pew Research Center Survey Questions

Questions on Public Trust in the Federal Government

1. “Which do you think should be mainly responsible for developing and executing policies to limit the spread of the coronavirus? The federal government or state and local government?” (July-August 2020)
2. “Which statement comes closer to your own views – even if neither is exactly right? Government should do more to solve problems, or government is doing too many things better left to businesses and individuals” (July-August 2020)
3. “How much of the time do you think you can trust the government in Washington to do what is right?” (July-August 2020)

Questions on Socio-Cultural Policy and Society

1. “How much more difficult, if at all, is it to be a Black person in this country than it is to be a White person?” (July-August 2020)
2. “Which statement comes closer to your own views – even if neither is exactly right? The obstacles that once made it harder for women than men to get ahead are now largely gone, or there are still significant obstacles that make it harder for women to get ahead than men.” (July-August 2020)
3. “In thinking about American history, which statement comes closer to your own views — even if neither is exactly right? The U.S. may not have been perfect, but focusing on its historical flaws makes the country weaker, or it makes the U.S. stronger when we acknowledge the country’s historical flaws.” (July-August 2020)
4. “In your view, has the U.S. been successful more because of… its ability to change, or its reliance on long-standing principles.” (July-August 2020)
5. “Should the U.S. Supreme Court base its rulings on its understanding of what the U.S. Constitution meant as it was originally written, or should the court base its rulings on its understanding of what the U.S. Constitution means in current times?” (July-August 2020)
6. “In general, how much do White people benefit from advantages in society that Black people do not have?” (July-August 2020)
7. “Which statement comes closer to your own views — even if neither is exactly right? The growing number of newcomers from other countries threatens traditional American customs and values, or the growing number of newcomers from other countries strengthens American society.” (July-August 2020)
8. “Which statement comes closer to your own views — even if neither is exactly right? The Islamic religion is more likely than others to encourage violence among its believers, or the Islamic religion does not encourage violence more than others.” (July-August 2020)
9. “Do you favor or oppose the death penalty for persons convicted of murder?” (July-August 2020)
10. “Which of these statements comes closer to your views, even if neither is exactly right?… The federal government should declare the United States a Christian nation, or the federal government should never declare any particular religion as the official religion of the United States.” (March 2021)
11. “Which of these statements comes closer to your views, even if neither is exactly right?…The federal government should advocate Christian religious values, or the federal government should advocate for moral values that are shared by people of many faiths.” (March 2021)
12. “Which of these statements comes closer to your views, even if neither is exactly right?…The federal government should stop enforcing separation of church and state, or the federal government should enforce separation of church and state.” (March 2021)
13. “Which of these statements comes closer to your views, even if neither is exactly right?…Cities and towns in the U.S. should be allowed to place religious symbols on public property, or cities and towns in the U.S. should keep religious symbols off public property.” (March 2021)
14. “Which of these statements comes closer to your views, even if neither is exactly right?…Teachers in public schools should be allowed to lead students in Christian prayers, or teachers in public schools should not be allowed to lead students in any kind of prayers.” (March 2021)
15. “How much of a priority should each of the following be for the federal government to address?…Reducing illegal immigration.” (September 2019)
16. “How much of a priority should each of the following be for the federal government to address?…Reducing gun violence.” (September 2019)

Questions on Economic Issues and Economic Policy

1. “Do you think it is the responsibility of the federal government to make sure all Americans have health care coverage?” (July-August 2020)
2. “Would you favor or oppose the federal government providing a guaranteed income, sometimes called a ‘Universal Basic Income,’ of about $1,000 a month for all adult citizens, whether or not they work.” (July-August 2020)
3. “For each of these same areas, how much of a role, if any, should the federal government play…Protecting the environment” (July-August 2020)
4. “How much of a priority should each of the following be for the federal government to address?…Making health care more affordable” (September 2019)
5. “How much of a priority should each of the following be for the federal government to address?…Reducing economic inequality.” (September 2019)
6. “How much of a priority should each of the following be for the federal government to address?…Addressing climate change.” (September 2019)
7. “Do you think each of the following is something the federal government has a responsibility to provide for all Americans?…An adequate standard of living.” (September 2019)
8. “Do you think each of the following is something the federal government has a responsibility to provide for all Americans?…Adequate housing.” (September 2019)
9. “Do you think each of the following is something the federal government has a responsibility to provide for all Americans?…High quality K-12 education.” (September 2019)
10. “Do you think each of the following is something the federal government has a responsibility to provide for all Americans?…A college education.” (September 2019)
11. “Do you think each of the following is something the federal government has a responsibility to provide for all Americans?…Adequate income in retirement.” (September 2019)
12. “How much responsibility, if any, should each of the following have in reducing economic inequality in our country?…Wealthy individuals.” (September 2019)
13. “How much, if at all, do you think each of the following contributes to economic inequality in this country?…Too much regulation of major corporations.” (September 2019)
14. “How much, if at all, do you think each of the following contributes to economic inequality in this country?…Some people working harder than others.” (September 2019)
15. “How much, if at all, do you think each of the following contributes to economic inequality in this country?…The different life choices people make” (September 2019)
16. “How much, if at all, do you think each of the following contributes to economic inequality in this country?…Some people start out with more opportunities than others.” (September 2019)
17. “How much, if at all, do you think each of the following contributes to economic inequality in this country?…Not enough regulation of major corporations.” (September 2019)
18. “How much, if at all, do you think each of the following contributes to economic inequality in this country?…Discrimination against racial and ethnic minorities.” (September 2019)

19 “Regardless of whether or not you support each of the following policies, how much, if at all, do you think each of the following proposals would do to reduce economic inequality in the U.S.?…Increasing the federal minimum wage.” (September 2019)

20. “Regardless of whether or not you support each of the following policies, how much, if at all, do you think each of the following proposals would do to reduce economic inequality in the U.S.?…Making college tuition free at both public two-year and four-year colleges.” (September 2019)
21. “Regardless of whether or not you support each of the following policies, how much, if at all, do you think each of the following proposals would do to reduce economic inequality in the U.S.?…Increasing taxes on the wealthiest Americans.” (September 2019)
22. “Regardless of whether or not you support each of the following policies, how much, if at all, do you think each of the following proposals would do to reduce economic inequality in the U.S.?…Expanding Medicare so that it covers Americans of all ages.” (September 2019)
23. “Regardless of whether or not you support each of the following policies, how much, if at all, do you think each of the following proposals would do to reduce economic inequality in the U.S.?…Making college tuition free at public two-year colleges.” (September 2019)
24. “Regardless of whether or not you support each of the following policies, how much, if at all, do you think each of the following proposals would do to reduce economic inequality in the U.S.?…Eliminating college debt.” (September 2019)
25. “Regardless of whether or not you support each of the following policies, how much, if at all, do you think each of the following proposals would do to reduce economic inequality in the U.S.?…Expanding government benefits for the poor.” (September 2019)
26. “Regardless of whether or not you support each of the following policies, how much, if at all, do you think each of the following proposals would do to reduce economic inequality in the U.S.?…Breaking up large corporations.” (September 2019)
27. “How much power and influence do you think each of the following have in today’s economy?…Labor unions.” (September 2019)
28. “How much power and influence do you think each of the following have in today’s economy?…Banks and other financial institutions.” (September 2019)
29. “How much power and influence do you think each of the following have in today’s economy?…Large corporations.” (September 2019)
30. “How much power and influence do you think each of the following have in today’s economy?…Health insurance companies.” (September 2019)
31. “How much power and influence do you think each of the following have in today’s economy?…People who are wealthy.” (September 2019)