The Arts and Humanities Research Council have released a strongly worded denial of Sunday's Observer article, which reported that the funding body had made 'The Big Society' a research priority, and in return received a rather favourable budget settlement. Most people seem to regard this as either a ham-fisted attempt by the government to 'influence' academic research, or as a ham-fisted attempt by the AHRC to suck up to HMG. It is of course neither of these, but rather a brilliant and devious strategy to advance the Prime Minister's biggest (/main/only) idea.
Anyone looking for an example of all that is evil about the 'big state' need look no further. It can't be right that the politicians can decide what research is or is not carried out in our universities. The government know this of course. They do not want an all-powerful state interfering in every area of life. If we are to believe their rhetoric, there is almost nothing they feel so strongly about. But by wielding top-down power so heinously, HMG reinforce their own case, and turn opinion against the big state. At the cost of looking hypocritical and incompetent perhaps, but they are playing the long game here. The Conservative Party are nothing if not ideologues.
[The more cynical amongst you might suggest that this is nothing more than a slightly subtler version of the strategy tried on the National Health Service between 1979 and 1997. Look how poor the NHS is! Wouldn't it be better if we all went private like we said all along! I could not possibly comment.]
Anyway, having identified their strategy, we now face something of a dilemma in responding to it. Either we accept their logic, or we accept their interference in academia*. As one of the four remaining supporters of the 'graduate contribution' scheme for funding higher education, I am lucky enough to have a way out here: of course the state should not have anything to do with universities, that is why they should be self-funding and properly independent institutions. Those who favour state-funded higher education (whether from general taxation, or a graduate tax, or research grants) have a trickier problem. How can you guarantee the independence of academia from government when the former relies directly on the latter for 80% of its funding?
*I suppose there is a secret third option here, of calling them a bunch of bastards and saying that all that is required is for some politicians who are not bastards, or who are at least a different kind of bastard, to be in power. But as long as the tories can rely on being in government 3/5 of the time, as under the current system, this is not a satisfactory answer. Of course, we could try and change that system, but that is a story for another day.
