The blogger Curtis Yarvin has popularized the term “Cathedral” to designate this institutionally diffused but intellectually monolithic formation. Ohio Senate candidate J.D. Vance (R) may have something like that in mind when he proposed seizing the assets of progressive foundations. As Henry VIII expropriated the monasteries (enriching his followers while removing a serious threat to his authority), so a modern populist leader might claim the endowments.

There’s no need to be so drastic, though. Rather than subordinating today’s quasi-establishment to the state, we could simply remove its privileges. The best response to the ABA’s turn toward activism isn’t to abolish it, but to eliminate its statutory authority to determine standards for legal education.

Theoretically, that decision is within the authority of the secretary of education. Perhaps a future member of Republican Pres. Ron DeSantis’ cabinet will choose to use it.

If law schools need to be accredited to determine their compliance with public purposes and eligibility for public funds, the determination should be made by public authorities responsible to elected legislatures, not private organizations over which voters (and even most of their own members) have no say. Otherwise, accreditation is just another means for those who claim special access to wisdom and justice to impose their beliefs on the rest of us.