Grinnell College: Case Study

0529316

Prof. Barry Driscoll

Poli Sci 101.01

23 September 2015

Liberal

Grinnell College must create a stricter law than self-governance to become a more liberal institution. Grinnell’s current self-governance policy gives too much governing power to students. The institution lacks a constitution that students can rely on for protection in the face of injustice.

Without definite laws, the liberal principle of the individual is difficult to uphold. Under the individual principle, liberals claim that every person regardless of their class, race, or other socially defining group has certain inalienable rights that government should uphold. John Locke argues in his Second Treatise of Civil Government that humans have an innate desire for unbiased

Socialists believe that tremendous inequality results from the functions of society, not the faults of individuals. To alleviate societal disadvantages, socialists believe the state should be the sole power in determining the distribution of goods and services.

Grinnell College should centralize organizational power to move toward socialism. Under socialism, Grinnell would take in and distribute only as many resources as students need. The college would charge a standard tuition to pay only for the institution’s necessities. Professors would teach the classes students need to take for majors while other elective courses would be removed as excess wasted resources. The dining hall would make just enough food to sustain students without any extra waste. If students need supplies, they may apply to the school for vouchers which they can redeem for goods without spending any money. Should Grinnell College centralize resource distribution, inequality amongst students will deteriorate and Grinnell will grow to embody the socialist principle of

Anarchists believe that humans are rational, good, and capable of governing themselves without states. In an anarchy, citizens vote to determine how the society will function. Robert Paul Wolff argues in his book, In Defense of Anarchism, that all humans will buy into an anarchist society’s principles regardless of any personal benefits or detriments because they all participate in creating the rules (13). Grinnell’s self-governance is similar to anti-statism, but the principle must expand for Grinnell to become a more anarchist institution. Grinnell College must transfer all decision making to students in order to become an anarchy. In an anarchy, all students would unify under their common goal of attaining a fantastic education and would collectively decide to pursue their goal. Students would propose ideas for improving, organizing, and governing the college to improve life on campus for everyone, not just the socially advantaged. Once a week students would meet together to vote on the relevant college-related issues. Even if students disagree with certain policies, they must recognize that the benefits of anarchy are worth some minor concessions and choose to abide by the established