Academics are in the crosshairs of the populists

If our societies are to engage effectively with those who hold these fears, help allay them and wean them away from the demagogues, then we must, as a first step, acknowledge that their concerns are often objectively real and well founded and even when they are not, they are real to the people who hold them….Our universities and colleges need to engage more genuinely and effectively with the communities outside their walls, whether those walls are physical or metaphorical….The best way to defend our values and way of life is to take the battle to the populists and expose their chicanery wherever we see it, but all the while be attentive to the voices of people who feel left behind by what most of the rest of us see as “progress”. And come on our higher education leaders and academics, join the good fight.