Geachte heer dr. Maas (if that's quite the way to do it!)

I quite agree that it's good for Europe to retain its own intellectual 
life, and not become an adjunct of the US.  But I guess I doubt that 
ranking systems do it.  On the contrary, isn't it true that they elevate 
precisely those academics who most energetically follow American 
"standards" (e.g. every economic problem just is a constrained 
maximization problem; social justice that can't be put into a 
utilitarian framework is silly; econometrics undersood as mindless tests 
of statistical significance just is empirical economics; history is a 
waste of time; philosophy is, too)?  I see just that in the Netherlands 
and in Britain and in Spain, but do not pretend to native competence in 
those academic cultures (well: maybe almost in Britain).

But I do have native competence in American academic culture.  Let me 
tell you as a native that reports of the dominance of corporations and 
the Department of "Defense" are greatly exaggerated!  The great bulk of 
American academics, and even the easily corrupted economists, are 
dominated by (erroneous) ideas, not by their Interests.

Hoogachtend,

Deirdre McCloskey