This book revitalizes the Marxian concept of critique for research into the transformation of universities. It consists of a set of comprehensive and interconnected theoretical tools, starting from the reflection on the political ontology of higher education, through the critique of political economy of the sector to the analysis of activist struggles within the universities, and back to the ontological concept of the ‘common’ – a foundation for the university alternative design. The tools offered and discussed in context throughout the book allow for a productive use in overcoming the current crisis of the university, as well as to avoid the pitfalls present in contemporary debates around it. Unlike the dominant discussions on the university in crisis, the authors argue that to grasp its nature, one has to reach more profound than the level of appearances such as marketization and commodification.