I am in higher level education in the public university system. I used to view academia as a source of hope in society, and perhaps a progressive institution in someways, or some kind of source of hope with their supposed focus on science and research. After some years here, this "image" I had of academia has been shattered.
What are your perceptions of academia and research institutions, as Marxists?
I had that same view until i actually spent a few years in the academic system. That shattered my illusions and left me very cynical about the whole institution. Even in my STEM field academia was just being used as an auxiliary to the private sector with which universities are inextricably intertwined. And more than the structure of the institution itself i was disgusted by the types of people in it. Perhaps this is worse in STEM but the kinds of people i was surrounded by were some of the most unpleasant i have ever interacted with.