review

Veblen opens by highlighting American universities’ "commercialization crisis": institutions that should be independent hubs of scholarship have devolved into "utilitarian enterprises" driven by business logic. He critiques how boards of trustees and donors meddle in academia, arguing that modern universities’ "prestige competition" has strayed from educational purpose. This section reads like a wake-up call, pinpointing the core tension between scholarship and commerce in higher education—sharp yet incisive.