I believe this is one those important ‘sleeper’ trends that is noticed by only a few but will gradually cause the ice to shift out from under our feet – more specifically, out from under the feet of the baby boomers.
As the article relates, universities enjoyed a massive expansion in the late 60’s and 1970’s, tenuring a large cohort of leftists in the process. These people have been the most important force in keeping the destructive left-wing ideas of the 1960’s alive - by indoctrinating today’s journalists, teachers and many other people who have passed through the halls of academe since.
The retirement of this cohort in the next decade will result in a significant shift towards political moderation on campus and away from the politically charged climate these baby boomers have always preferred to operate in. The reason is not because the next generation of professors will be more right wing. It is because the current generation of faculty is pinned so far out on the left edge of the meter that, in all probability, the next generation is bound to be more rightwing - or, more specifically, less extremely left. Statisticians call this phenomenon a regression towards the mean.
I have long believed that the enthusiasms of the baby boomers are the cross that subsequent generations are fated to bear. Their retirement from campus will likely be the event that results in their greatest loss of power and a signal that we can finally put the cross down.
This will happen quietly. One fine morning we will all wake up and wonder, what on earth were those strange people screaming about at Woodstock such a long time ago?
