Tenure was originally invented to protect radical professors, those who challenged the accepted order. But we don't have such people anymore at the u… - John Kenneth Galbraith

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Tenure was originally invented to protect radical professors, those who challenged the accepted order. But we don't have such people anymore at the universities, and the reason is tenure. When the time comes to grant it nowadays, the radicals get screened out. That's its principal function. It's a very good system, really - keeps academic life at a decent level of tranquility.