Global Justice + UChicago Imperialism
History: UChicago Research
On December 2, 1942, here at UChicago, a team of scientists working under physicist Enrico Fermi oversaw the first self-sustaining nuclear reaction, beginning research for what would become the atomic bomb. UChicago not only advertises this history but celebrates and memorializes this event with a sculpture on campus.
History: Exporting Economic Ideology
In the 1950s, the US State Department developed the “Chile Project” in an attempt to influence economic thought in Chile. Between the 1950s and 1970s, as part of this project, a group of Chilean economic students, known as the Chicago Boys, studied at UChicago under Milton Friedman’s free market tutelage.
Following a coup on September 11, 1973, which brought President Augusto Pinochet’s Dictatorship to power in Chile, the Chicago Boys received ministerial positions, and their policy, which promoted economic deregulation and privatization, was put into effect.
Even after Pinochet’s sixteen-year rule ended, the Chicago Boys’ policy had continuing effects:
Seen as an experiment in neoliberalism, the Chicago Boys’ economic system would inform further policy, including that of Margaret Thatcher and Ronald Reagan.
In Chile, the economic system put in place lasted, causing the economic inequality that ultimately lead to student-led riots in 2011.
History: Investments Abroad
In the 1980s, UChicago, unlike its peer institutions, refused to divest from apartheid South Africa. Again, in the early 2000s, the University refused to divest from Sudan during the Darfur Genocide. UChicago currently refuses to divest from Israel’s genocidal apartheid government.
Today
In 2021, following a $75 million gift from James and Paula Crown, the University renamed the School of Social Work, Service, and Administration, on behalf of The Crown Family, whose so-called philanthropic efforts include economic and ideological support for Israel.
Today, citing the Kalven Report, UChicago claims commitments to “neutrality” and “free expression,” while continuing to invest in arms manufacturing. The University’s investment practices even earned a 0/40 in a 2023 Amnesty International report, which included alignment with the United Nations Guiding Principles on Human Rights.
See our section on Justice for Palestine to learn how the University brings imperialism to campus through the Israel Institute.
