The Authoritarian Radicals: Barack Obama, Bill Ayers and the Chicago Annenberg Challenge

Abstract:     
The Chicago Annenberg Challenge was a $160 million dollar reform effort in the Chicago public school system led by, among others, Barack Obama and Bill Ayers. An analysis of the Challenge suggests that an authoritarian form of politics shared by Ayers and Obama was a critical part of the reform effort. This form of authoritarian radicalism has its roots in the American New Left and Black Power movements. The paper contrasts the authoritarian and anti-union approach of the Challenge with a democratic alternative.

Keywords: Law, poliitics, education, Obama, Ayers, Annenberg Challenge

JEL Classifications: None

Working Paper Series