Bypass Harvard, Don’t Reform It

The author argues you can’t coerce a captured elite university into 'merit' because, inside it, ideology is what counts as merit. Instead of punitive audits or forced hiring rules, real power should make Harvard irrelevant—cut it out of decision flows while building more attractive rival institutions and only use coercion sparingly with decisive, permanent effects. — This reframes campus reform from coercive makeover to competitive displacement, guiding how governments and donors should deploy leverage against entrenched institutions.