Academic Capitalism

Academic capitalism refers to the transfer of elements of capitalism from the economic system to the system of higher education, research, and knowledge transfer. Here, universities are conceived as enterprises that collect funds to invest them in research, study programs, and the transfer of knowledge to practical use in competition with other universities. The rise of academic capitalism is part of a broader process of change in higher education being advanced by two major, closely intertwined forces: (1) the emergence of a global academic champions league established by international rankings of universities and (2) reform strategies that have been implemented under the regime of new public management. The interplay of these two forces can be understood as a transformative power that does not simply provide ...