A history of intellectuals and the demise of the new class: Academies and the U.S. government in the 1960s.

In this article, the author focuses on the history of academics in relation to the U.S. government in the 1960s. A vast extension of academic power was a widely perceived, albeit hotly contested, possibility in the United States in the 1960s. Theoretical and political debates centered around issues of academic professionalization and academic influence in government. According to critics, academic dependence on government funds and academic employment by state agencies compromised intellectual autonomy. In contrast, opponents in government voiced suspicions of what they characterized as the liberal commitments academics brought to policy formulation. In his article, "The coming of Post-Industrial Society, researcher Daniel Bell argued that a radical transformation of economic and political structures was underway in societies like the United States during the 1960s. On the basis of changes in occupational structure, demographic patterns, and government funding to science and education, Bell predicted an immanent shift to a society where theoretical knowledge was central and experts would be the primary advisors to government and business. On a whole, according to the liberal view, the theoretical and technical knowledge of intellectuals assured them a place of power in the governance structures of post-industrial societies.