Prejudices, third seriesMencken, H. L. (Henry Louis)
History
Prejudices, third series
Mencken, H. L. (Henry Louis)
American essays -- 20th century; American literature -- History and criticism; Literature -- History and criticism
and denounced the minimum wage as ardently as he defended it, then he
would have been quite as secure in his post, for all his cavorting in
the newspapers, as Chancellor Day was at Syracuse.
Now consider the case of the professors of economics, near and far,
who have _not_ been thrown out. Who will say that the lesson of the
Nearing _débâcle_ has been lost upon them? Who will say that the
potency of the wealthy men who command our universities—or most of
them—has not stuck in their minds? And who will say that, with this
sticking remembered, their arguments against Nearing’s so-called ideas
are as worthy of confidence and respect as they would be if they were
quite free to go over to Nearing’s side without damage? Who, indeed,
will give them full credit, even when they are right, so long as they
are hamstrung, nose-ringed and tied up in gilded pens? It seems to
me that these considerations are enough to cast a glow of suspicion
over the whole of American political economy, at least in so far
as it comes from college economists. And, in the main, it has that
source, for, barring a few brilliant journalists, all our economists
of any repute are professors. Many of them are able men, and most of
them are undoubtedly honest men, as honesty goes in the world, but
over practically every one of them there stands a board of trustees
with its legs in the stock market and its eyes on the established
order, and that board is ever alert for heresy in the science of its
being, and has ready means of punishing it, and a hearty enthusiasm
for the business. Not every professor, perhaps, may be sent straight
to the block, as Nearing was, but there are plenty of pillories and
guardhouses on the way, and every last pedagogue must be well aware of
it.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
Reviews
Reviews
No reviews yet
Be the first to share your thoughts on this work.
Elsewhere in the archive
Join the Discussion
Join the discussion
Sign in to leave a comment or review.
Sign InorCreate an account