Simulacra and Simulation

Hyperrealities destroy everything, even power, leaving behind only ruins. This is also true in universities where knowledge and information are supposed to be disseminated and decentralized. Baudrillard references May 1968, a period of civil unrest in France, during which many strikes and demonstrations took place in spaces like the university where Baudrillard was a professor. Revolution and activism come close to dismantling hyperrealities, but Baudrillard explains that the simulation is an inevitable outcome.

Baudrillard argues that power has a personal stake in destroying academia. For this reason, many universities are crumbling, which Baudrillard argues leads to a larger societal decay. He says people have a responsibility to continue to fight against the death and decay of hyperrealities, hyperconsumerism, and the commodification of knowledge.

Baudrillard proposes that the extension of hyperreality into universities means that diplomas and degrees also cease to be connected to meaning. Instructors in universities have been aware of the devaluation of education for many years. Degrees have become inflated, and few people leave universities without diplomas. Baudrillard explains that this creates a status of idleness, extending to both teachers and students. Students are given degrees for doing no work, and teachers respond by assigning no work.