John McGinnis has said that the rich help society, especially colleges and universities. His new book, Why Democracy Needs the Rich, argues that wealthy individuals continue to shield higher education from a complete takeover by leftist ideological conformity. Because they are financially independent and not bound by contracts, tenure, or ostracization, they have challenged the intelligentsia, strengthened ideological diversity, and prevented the growth of bureaucracy.

McGinnis labels journalists, academics, and entertainers as the intelligentsia, groups of highly educated people who greatly influence American politics and culture. Their defect is that they misunderstand human nature. They try to perfect humanity via government intervention, wealth redistribution, and collectivism, not realizing that equality of conditions means everyone will be equally miserable and poor. He says the intelligentsia “often focuses on abstract ideals of how society should function, with less consideration for the practical realities and constraints of change.” He is right. Journalism has become the diary of the bleeding-heart liberal, academia has turned into boot camp for social justice warriors, and the entertainment industry is so far removed from reality that it is laughable.

The intelligentsia has found a haven in American universities, intellectual bubbles of theory and abstraction about how humans should behave. McGinnis continues, “While journalists describe the world, academics model it, and artists and entertainers imagine it, they rarely handle the concrete execution of plans in business or government.” And so, the rich step in. They understand free-market systems and the effects public policies have on regular people. The rich do not try to perfect human nature: they take risks, adapt, and create solutions that help the most people. The rich have their wealth as a result of ideas that work well. It is data that proves theories incorrect. And if the intelligentsia responds critically, it still will not affect the wealth of the rich.

McGinnis then turns his attention to the major donors at American universities. Donors hold tremendous power. The purpose of elite American universities was once the prioritization of scientific education that supported discovery and the pursuit of truth, along with the preservation and dissemination of American history and Western civilization, the knowledge that effectively prepared students to be responsible citizens. He says if universities have abandoned this purpose, pull your money out. He writes, “Wealthy donors and patrons, with their financial resources and social clout, possess the unique ability to intervene, fostering debates and refocusing attention when an organization strays from its intended purpose.” Donors at Harvard, Columbia, and the University of Pennsylvania set a precedent after the leaders of their universities refused to condemn anti-Semitism on campus. Within weeks, these universities lost millions.

If major donors still want to support universities, their money is better spent funding independent centers. McGinnis praises the James Madison Program in American Ideals and Institutions at Princeton, the William F. Buckley Jr. Program at Yale, and the Benson Center for the Study of Western Civilization at the University of Colorado. The rich also have the means to open new universities, such as the University of Austin. Hillsdale College prides itself on not receiving any government funding while offering students generous scholarships, and both the University of Austin and Hillsdale College are refuting postmodern trends such as wokeness and cancel culture. This is the spirit of creativity and disdain for entrenched bureaucracy that American higher education has lost.

Speaking of bureaucracy, McGinnis criticizes the inefficiency of the modern American university, a sort of miniature-scale government. Universities with billion-dollar endowments beg for more money, more staff, and more programs for administrative spending, often outweighing their instructional costs. But much like government programs, once a university begins a new initiative, even if it does not work, it is difficult to get rid of. The rich, knowing what works and what does not, will not waste their time and resources on ideas that reap no rewards.  

McGinnis ends by sharing a warning with us. He says,

Today’s elite graduates from such humanities programs are tomorrow’s human resource managers. They enter the workforce already inclined to support and expand programs of diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) within corporations and nonprofits. Thereby extending the identity politics of the campus into society at large. The intellectual currents that begin in academia wash outward, subtly but powerfully reshaping the landscape of American life.

The radical ideology of the far left is already well entrenched in American culture, thanks to higher education. The rich have an important role to play to counterbalance the absurdity seen today. They will continue to challenge the accepted narrative of the intelligentsia, invest in programs and universities with high standards, and trim the fat off the administrative behemoth.