Michael Austin

Professor-turned-administrator and political commentator. Author of six books including "That's Not What They Meant! Reclaiming the Founding Fathers from the American Right" (Prometheus Books).

The Partisan Fantasy

“The principle that the end justifies the means is and remains the only rule of political ethics; anything else is just a vague chatter and melts away between one’s

By Michael Austin

May 24, 2013

Three Quarts of Strawberries: The Queeg Congress and the Specter of Watergate

Captain Queeg in The Caine Mutiny--now there was some serious crazy. And nothing that Queeg does in the book, or the movie, says "crazy" quite like the

By Michael Austin

May 18, 2013

What's Really at Stake in the Student Loan Debate?

“Before any great things are accomplished, a memorable change must be made in the system of education and knowledge must become so general as to raise the lower ranks of

By Michael Austin

May 14, 2013

What's Really at Stake in the Student Loan Debate?

“Before any great things are accomplished, a memorable change must be made in the system of education and knowledge must become so general as to raise the lower ranks of

By Michael Austin

May 14, 2013

What Kind of Good Thing Is Education?

"Every single day, this country invests in big banks by lending them money at near-zero rates. We should make the same kind of investment lending money to students,

By Michael Austin

May 12, 2013

These Kids Today. . . (an Encomium)

This afternoon, I participated in my 24th commencement ceremony. This one (like the last nine) was for the students at Newman University in Wichita, Kansas, where I am an administrative

By Michael Austin

May 11, 2013

The Art of the Scandal

Tell me, ye prim adepts in Scandal’s school Who rail by precept, and detract by rule, Lives there no character, so tried, so known,So decked with grace, and

By Michael Austin

May 9, 2013

In Praise of Basic Research

I don’t know which political controversies will end up being the most important ones during 2013, but I am fairly certain that the funniest catch phrase of the year

By Michael Austin

May 8, 2013

Do State and Local Governments Do Things Better? Why Federalist #10 Still Matters

One of the most common arguments in contemporary political discourse goes something like this: "We should devolve as much power as possible to state and local governments because they

By Michael Austin

May 7, 2013

The Debate We Need to Have

Disagreement is critical to the well-being of our nation. But we must carry on our arguments with the realization that those with whom we disagree are not our enemies;

By Michael Austin

May 6, 2013

Don't Fear the MOOCs

On my own time, I play at political punditry. But my day job—by far the most important part of my professional life—is to be a college administrator. Specifically,

By Michael Austin

May 4, 2013

Hank Aaron, Joe DiMaggio, and Guns

I am not a sport’s fan, and I am especially not a baseball fan. In fact, I can only remember ever seeing one baseball game all the way through

By Michael Austin

May 3, 2013