Education Quote by David Horowitz

Horowitz’s line is built to do one thing well: turn a messy argument about ideas into a clean moral panic about abuse of power. “Educating” carries the glow of public service and neutrality; “indoctrinate” conjures cults, propaganda, and helpless minds. The sentence doesn’t prove that a classroom has crossed that line, it presumes the verdict and dares opponents to defend themselves against a loaded charge.

The phrasing also performs a subtle delegitimization of expertise. “These professors” reduces a vast, fractious profession to a single suspect bloc, as if faculty disagreements, peer review, and disciplinary standards don’t exist. It’s a rhetorical move that replaces institutional complexity with a villain. The “students” are cast as passive and endangered, positioning Horowitz (and by extension the political project around him) as their protector, not merely a critic.

Context matters: Horowitz rose as a prominent conservative activist-writer during the culture-war escalation over campuses, canon battles, and later “political correctness.” His broader campaign, including efforts like the Academic Bill of Rights, framed universities as ideological monopolies. This quote is the slogan version of that frame: short enough to travel, accusatory enough to mobilize donors, legislators, and anxious parents.

The subtext is less about pedagogy than jurisdiction. Who gets to define legitimate knowledge: credentialed institutions, or political actors claiming to defend “balance”? By alleging indoctrination, Horowitz isn’t just criticizing teaching; he’s arguing that universities have forfeited autonomy and deserve oversight, constraint, or replacement.