 Western civilization could only be saved , Innis argued , by recovering the balance between space and time . For him , that meant <unk> the oral tradition within universities while freeing institutions of higher learning from political and commercial pressures . In his essay , A <unk> for Time , he suggested that genuine dialogue within universities could produce the critical thinking necessary to restore the balance between power and knowledge . Then , universities could muster the courage to attack the <unk> that always <unk> civilization . 
