The power of Babel

In this paper, I seek to determine the extent to which a particular form of information—the published book review—is helpful in public policy discussion. In pursuing this question a number of reviews dealing with recent critiques of American education are analyzed. The works of Bloom, D’Souza, Moe et al.—studies funded by ideologically conservative foundations—offer a seemingly respectable underpinning for the efforts to eliminate all aspects of affirmative action in higher education, while installing “choice” in the lower grades. Thoughtful critiques of these jeremiad-like works are all but ignored by the mainstream media. The review sources themselves, conservative, liberal, and academic, do follow a predictable pattern. However, an analysis of the totality of reviews considered reveals a cacophony of voices, many as partisan as the authors under review. It is argued that the original works, in substance and tone, along with the secondary analysis available to the interested public are unlikely to promote a thoughtful “democratic-friendly” dialogue. To this extent, the public policy is likely to be ill-informed. Present funding sources available to many in the social sciences suggest that an improvement in this situation will not come easily.