‘In the twenty-first century, it might be thought quixotic…to be highlighting ideas about the purpose of universities that have anything to do with conservatism…The dominance of a progressive liberal “idea of a University” should not, however, let us forget that there is a conservative “idea of a University” waiting in the wings and ready for the opportunity to reassert itself…’

‘Politically, however, it is not impossible for a state to decide that it would be better, both for children and for the country, to give schools freedom to develop educational approaches that follow liberal education principles, whether within the state system or outside it, especially if evidence can be gathered to show the beneficial effects it is having.’

‘Ortega’s image of what members of his ideal elite should be like derives from his wider philosophy. His spells at German universities made him initially a fervent neo-Kantian who, seeing the world through the lens of transcendental idealism, believed in the objective reality of the Platonic triad of truth, goodness, and beauty, and that this should form the basis of one’s life and education…’