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This article documents the influence of the super rich on how economic ideas are discussed in higher education. The Koch family has been particularly active in promoting its causes by sponsoring academic research on government regulation and climate change that is favorable to its financial interests. The Mercatus Center at George Mason University is a classic example of a Koch funded economics research organization that produces economic "studies" that consistently blame government regulation for most of our economic problems and argue for the privatization of government entitlements such as social security. The Mercatus web site provides a list of its Board of Directors. It reads like a Who's Who of far right political activists. It is not dissimilar from the Boards of other right wing "think tanks" e.g., The Heritage Foundation, The American Enterprise Institute, The Cato Institute, The Hoover Institute etc. etc. A visit to the websites of these organizations is like going to the center of the right wing universe.
One of the problems with growing income and wealth inequality is the potential for the corruption of democracy and higher education. The super rich cannot spend all of their wealth on consumer goods. They can use it to purchase power. The weak financial situation of many higher education institutions opens up the market for those who want to use universities to promote their particular causes. A college in Utah was given a large grant from the Koch Foundation on the condition that Ayn Rand's novels are required reading.
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