Among the responses by full-time faculty to the problem of adjunctification is a line of argument that I find rather curious. It goes something like this: grant that the abuse of adjuncts is unfortunate (which concession is often accompanied by the disclaimer that there is nothing we can do about the low pay and lack of benefits), the system is a meritocracy and those who are truly worthy do end up on the tenure track.
There is tragic irony in the fact that this assailant of public tyranny was the victim of a batred inspired by his own ultratyrannical conduct in private life, and that his slayers were those greedy, brutish peasants, whom he loved to depict in his pamphlets as harmless Arcadians in danger of being corrupted by a vicious court and a debauched nobility (see p. 141).
But if you look at the employment trends in the country, you find that the white-collar (and gray-collar) activities have become increasingly important...
