Yes, I think that the shift from a more training oriented system to a more research oriented system started the shift that goes back o the fifties. The imbalance may have created more hostility leading to a feedback loop, but the core reasons conservatives left wasn’t the hostility, though that may have exacerbated things recently.

But take away the hostility and conservatives wouldn’t self selection into an institution that doesn’t prioritize the things conservatives prioritize.

> But take away the hostility and conservatives wouldn’t self selection into an institution that doesn’t prioritize the things conservatives prioritize.

Right. Take away the pervasive, organized, even official measures aimed at driving out the right from academia, and maybe there are also some other minor reasons we can shift blame on instead.

"Maybe our extensive efforts to purge institutions of our ideological enemies had no significant effect, and they voluntarily purged themselves!"