The country has a number of schools of public policy, which supposedly graduate savvy young men and women who will bring expertise to government operations. But if you look at our recent administrations — Trump, Biden, Obama — you don’t see much expertise.

In today’s Martin Center article, Rick Hess and Andy Smarick explain why — the schools are, like most of academia, leftist fiefdoms: “While the leftward lean of university faculty and administration is old news, the lack of ideological diversity in policy schools has a particular import. After all, policy schools are explicitly charged with educating students to navigate issues like taxation, policing, abortion, and immigration.”

The faculties in policy schools are full of true-believing leftists, and students with a right-of-center inclination aren’t interested in learning from climate alarmists or school choice enemies.

The authors suggest a list of important books that ought to be required reading and point out that there are many conservative/libertarians who are well qualified to teach in policy schools. They write, “There are plenty of policy scholars and practitioners who needn’t play devil’s advocate to make the case for free markets, critique complex government programs, insist that personal responsibility is as important as individual rights, or argue that practical wisdom is often preferable to technocratic decision-making.”