ABSTRACT. This paper proposes an argument for the defence of the public university in discussion of the field of Critical University Studies by examining the assault on the notion of the public and the public sphere by neoliberal policies. It elaborates an argument concerning the critique of neoliberalism and puts forward the idea of science as a global public good in the name of ‘knowledge socialism’ (as opposed to knowledge capitalism, or the knowledge economy). In particular it champions open science as a necessary public platform for the open science digital university and draws the interconnections between the idea of ‘knowledge socialism’ and open science as a global public good.

Keywords: critical university studies; defense of public university; neoliberalism; knowledge socialism; global public goods;

How to cite: Peters, M. A. (2023). “Critical University Studies and the Defense of the Public University: Neoliberalism, Knowledge Socialism and Science as a Global Public Good,” Review of Contemporary Philosophy 21: 7–31. doi: 10.22381/RCP2220231.

Received 10 January 2023 • Received in revised form 7 May 2023
Accepted 10 May 2023 • Available online 18 May 2023