Campuses of higher learning across our country and here in Arizona are accepting money from state legislatures and the Koch Brothers with strings attached. These strings require teaching certain types of economics, and at some schools, the Kochs even wanted to approve some of the faculty. To mask their real purposes, they are often called “Philosophy of Freedom Centers or Schools.” Or the acronym P.P.E.L or Philosophy, Politics, Economics, and Law.
But what they really do is teach Libertarian politics, which is laissez-faire capitalism that is anti-public school, anti-mask, anti-consumer protection, and anti-environmental protection. It is a fringe viewpoint not adopted by any country.
In 2016 Arizona lawmakers inserted a $5 million line item into the state budget for “economic freedom schools” at ASU and the U of A. Since then, legislators have appropriated $12 million to ASU and the U of A for these ideologically-driven centers, which previously had been funded by the Charles Koch Foundation. Arizona Center for Investigative Reporting examination of the two universities’ spending shows the schools still have $9.8 million of that money on hand.
In 2018 Arizona’s three state universities received $10 million, of which $2 million of that would go toward so-called “freedom schools” for programs at Arizona State University and the University of Arizona to focus on free-market philosophies (Libertarian economics).
The universities didn’t ask for additional funding for the freedom schools. Instead, the universities sought money to lower the cost of tuition for in-state students and to cover increasing health insurance costs. A report from The Center for Media and Democracy in November this year said Koch Industries distributed $141.2 million in grants to higher education and right-wing organizations. One of the top five recipients was Arizona State with $3.2 million
The U of A created the Department of Political Economy & Moral Science, which houses the Center for the Philosophy of Freedom. Currently, the center is a research unit of the philosophy department and offers no curriculum.
Not spending tainted money
Both ASU and the U of A have banked much of the money given to them by lawmakers for future use, although it’s unclear what it will be spent on or when. In the fiscal year 2017, the first year in which it received money from the state’s general fund, ASU spent only a quarter of the $3 million it was given, socking away nearly $2.3 million. Most state appropriations require unspent money to be returned every fiscal year, but these line items were specifically designated as “non-lapsing,” meaning the universities can hold on to the money they don’t spend.
From 2008 to 2015 the Arizona Legislature led the nation in cuts to higher education but still appropriated $2.5 million for the Freedom Center. In the education budget for 2017, the Legislature made a one-time appropriation of $4,157,000 for capital improvements and operations at the U of A. Almost one-quarter of this appropriation ($1 million) was restricted to the use of the Freedom Center. The rest of the university got what was left. But the Center for the Philosophy of Freedom wouldn’t have to depend on the Kochs anymore now that Arizona’s taxpayers are now picking up the tab.
Anti-Koch movements
Thankfully the Freedom Centers movement has not gone unchallenged by Universities and Colleges. Facility and students on campuses with Freedom Centers have organized and started a movement called UnKochMyCampus. Here at the U of A, it’s Kochs off Campus.
The first to start UnKochMy Campus was Florida State University. Based on a yearlong investigation and hundreds of new documents obtained through public records requests, they have reconstructed a picture of donor influence at FSU and other universities.
The vision of UnKochMyCampus is to preserve our democracy through protecting Higher Education from actors whose expressed intent is to place private interests over the common good.
I think this says it all.
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So highly political departments focused on gender, race, ethnicity and “justice studies” are fine but one focusing on free markets is unacceptable. So much for a well-rounded education.
Those departments are only considered political by bigots, John.
The rest of us just consider gender, race, ethnicity, and justice to be part of being a person.
When a student takes a course in Gender Studies or Black studies, they know the political orientation. When a student takes a philosophy course taught by someone in the Freedom Center, they have no idea it will be libertarian economics rather than ‘mainstream’ economics.
How are these “freedom centers” any different from what China was doing on US campuses?
From Charles Koch’s new book (not wanting to have anyone buy it so not naming it)
“Boy, did we screw up. What a mess!” Koch writes about their work creating The Tea Party.
Koch is complaining about how the people they “vetted” and supported for office turned out to be nut jobs.
But that’s not the actual problem with what the Koch’s were doing, the actual problem is that their philosophy requires cherry picking facts and ignoring the impact on other people.
The UA Freedom Center is no longer associated with the philosophy department. It’s housed under the VP for Research. The philosophy dept severed their relationship with the Freedom Center years ago. There are number of inaccuracies in this article.
Diane Horgan: Please provide more information. If the philosophy department severed its relationship with the Freedom Center, that reflects very well on them. But the UA is still corrupted by this Koch program. And, as opposed to Koch centers at universities in other states, where the Koch Network pays for them, Governor Ducey and the Arizona Legislature are so deeply in the pocket of the Koch Network that our state taxes us citizens to pay for our own brainwashing and subversion of democracy. Read Democracy in Chains by Nancy MacLean and Dark Money by Jane Mayer to learn how destructive and subversive of equal opportunity, environmental protection and democracy the Koch programs really are.
I’ve read those books. After the phil dept severed ties, the center went to PEMS but there was a rift. So the VPR took them on. Basically people in the Freedom Center have alienated people across campus. Look at their website; only a handful of folks. One died last week.
Thank you for the very helpful information. I can’t blame the university for this. They were ordered by the legislature and governor to set up the Freedom Center, and the university could not say “no” without jeopardizing additional state funding. So the enemies here are Charles Koch and his nefarious network, Governor Ducey and the Koch-sponsored Republicans in the Arizona Legislature. The Koch Network and the Grover Norquist pledge (Koch-sponsored) are key reasons why Arizona’s funding for public education (K-12, junior college and university) has been at or near the bottom of the nation for many years. Thanks again. All the best to you.
Brooks: This is a good summary of events by Time Steller: https://tucson.com/news/local/tim-stellers-opinion-taxpayers-give-ua-freedom-center-prominence-conflicts-after-koch-money-dwindles/article_2698a55a-17e2-5a59-bb00-ca008ea68b3a.html?utm_medium=social&utm_source=email&utm_campaign=user-share Note that since this article, Gaus has died, leaving PEMS with only 4 faculty, 3 of whom are untenured. Gaus was a very well-respected scholar. Now the Freedom Center also has a very large grant from the Templeton Foundation. The Freedom Center’s Harless died last week, leaving them, too, with very few folks. Schmidtz’ wife has taken a job elsewhere. Both units–PEMS and Freedom Center may be withering away.