ABSTRACT
The place of universities in society has become a public question, and as befits a public question it has fallen into the hands of publicists keen to appropriate a valuable resource to the purposes of their commonplace commitments. In some countries they constitute an entire social class having great influence on the government. In their care for intellectual matters, the class of intellectuals is a natural ally of universities, but in its practical involvement this alliance can become much more dangerous than open enmity. The practical world includes the marvels of technology and social organization which exhibit intelligence on a scale seldom or never seen in universities. It is true that many undergraduates at universities have no very clear idea of what they are doing, and acquire nothing more sophisticated than the mastery of a few useful skills. The constantly dismissive use of the phrase 'ivory tower' exemplifies the common practical view of universities.
