Conclusion: On the Verge of Breakdown

Abstract

The unifying theme of the contributions to this volume is a perceived transfiguration in higher education and research, which the authors and editors of this volume believe is related to markets and marketisation. The transformation of the global economy into an amorphous network transgressing national borders is the prime mover in the present reorganisation of ‘knowledge production’, which has the effect of undermining the legitimacy of the university as an essential component in the project of modernity. Whether or not the modern research university ever actually lived up to the aim of the disinterested and universal quest for knowledge for the common good without regard to partisan interests or political ambitions, this role was part and parcel of its self-understanding and its mission and as such was a cornerstone of its activities. On the one hand, the loss of that self-understanding can be seen as a loss of innocence, which we are better off without. The realisation that the university is no more unfettered than the rest of society can thus be regarded as a new realism and thus as inevitable if not beneficial. On the other hand, if the ideal of value-free (or at least value-neutral) science is disavowed in favour of the norm of science on demand, what will the consequences be? The choice seems to stand between research and teaching faculty actively arguing and fighting for the right to be non-partisan and universalist, in practice enacting the ideal of the democratic university, or we have to hope and trust that some contingent of individual scientists and teachers will continue to exercise scientific judgement and that these will constitute a large enough community to make a difference.