The latest racket in higher education, evident at my alma mater, the University of Texas at Austin, is the disturbing proliferation of “social justice” as a degree program, a course topic, an academic emphasis, and even as a prerequisite in campus job descriptions.

“Social justice” is a seemingly innocuous term with no established definition. Many members of the general public construe it as a harmless synonym for “fairness.” But to progressives—who dominate the academy these days—“social justice” is a colloquial expression with a specific meaning: economic equity (the redistribution of wealth), “sustainability” (a pre-industrial environmental ethos), and the elimination of racial disparities throughout society...

In The Mirage of Social Justice, the second volume of his trilogy on Law, Legislation, and Liberty, Friedrich von Hayek confessed that, "as a result of long endeavors to trace the destructive effect which the invocation of 'social justice' has had on our moral sensitivity," he had "come to feel strongly that the greatest service" he could "still render" to his fellows would be to "make . . . speakers and writers . . . thoroughly ashamed . . . to employ the term 'social justice.'"

Certainly, as Hayek proceeded so painstakingly to show, this cant expression was, and indeed still is, usually employed quite thoughtlessly. Few, if any, of those who...

Education is all about conformity, it is the institution of conformity. Conformity has much to answer for in our society.

There are those who will argue that conformity is central to the functioning of our society. There are those from the business world who have said that conformity one of the most desirable characteristics of graduates because they are easier to fit into the business world. I have been told that the reason conformity is desirable is because it is the basis of law and order in our society. Most of the research into conformity in education portray it as a positive thing because of classroom management concerns. ...

In The Mirage of Social Justice, the second volume of his trilogy on Law, Legislation, and Liberty, Friedrich von Hayek confessed that, "as a result of long endeavors to trace the destructive effect which the invocation of 'social justice' has had on our moral sensitivity," he had "come to feel strongly that the greatest service" he could "still render" to his fellows would be to "make . . . speakers and writers . . . thoroughly ashamed . . . to employ the term 'social justice.'"

Certainly, as Hayek proceeded so painstakingly to show, this cant expression was, and indeed still is, usually employed quite thoughtlessly. Few, if any, of those who...

In an era of hyper-individualism, we should rekindle the bonds of community

He held his phone close, eyes searching for privacy. The man scarcely noticed the subway riders around him, nor the 90-year-old artist sketching his hunched frame from across the train. In the seven decades since Alex Katz first drew the outlines of commuters on New York City’s early-morning trains, the chattering riders and newspapers had all but gone. In their places were people who rode alone together, the light in their eyes reflecting the glow of their phones. In his cover art for ...

A friend of mine works at a health clinic in a medium-sized town in the Midwest. He told me about a peculiar kind of patient that comes in for treatment. They are young and old, rich and poor. They are men and women. It is safe to say they represent a cross section of America.

The curious thing about these particular patients is that they are not sick.

They are lonely. He...