This is Low?
A study finds that 17.6% of social scientists at American universities self-identify themselves as Marxists. And the study's authors find this percentage to be "low". By the way, had Coyote been responsible for assigning the Marxist label rather than just self-idntification, my guess is the number would have easily cracked 50%.
somebody:
It must be great to live in la-la-land and get paid for it, too.
October 9, 2007, 12:47 pmKevin:
So, given that 50% > 17.6%, it's "low". Compared to the expectation.
October 9, 2007, 1:05 pmEmil:
It would be quite difficult for somebody involved with the social sciences and with economics to describe himself as something different than a "Marxist" ... Marx asked a lot of good questions (and gave mostly flawed answers), and the social/political sciences still look for answers to those questions.
By 50% you probably mean "levelers", which is quite a different story.
October 9, 2007, 1:36 pmdearieme:
Ah, go on: most Social Scientists aren't scholarly enough to know whether or not they are marxists.
October 9, 2007, 1:54 pmJeffrey Ellis:
I bet it really is closer to 50% than 17.6%. Given the perceived stigma of being labeled a Marxist, many probably wouldn't openly admit it.
I liked dearieme's response too, though. ;-)
October 10, 2007, 7:08 amErikTheRed:
Heh... was just reading a sci-fi series by Charles Stross (The Merchant Princes series) which features an alternate reality where Karl Marx asks the same questions... and became the rebel capitalist instead. I was mildly amused by this.
October 10, 2007, 11:44 amAl Fin:
Given what marxism did to Eastern Europe, Cambodia, North Korea, the USSR, etc. it is extremely unlikely that any intelligent persons would self-identify as marxists--even if they are one.
No, the 17.6% who self-identified as marxists represent the extreme shit-throwing monkey contingent of academic social "scientists." There's no reasonable expectation of anything healthy or productive from those hooting tree dwellers.
October 10, 2007, 10:14 pmNoumenon:
The study is at . If you look at page 40, they say Marxists are "rare" in academia, with the highest proportion being that 17.6% in the social sciences, working out to a 3% portion of academics overall.
Also, remember that "Marxist" represents an area of study as well as a political affiliation when you're a social scientist.
October 17, 2007, 5:53 pm