Isn't mortality supposed to be check-and-balance on the bullshit in science?

Did you really mean mortality as in "exercising the 2nd Amendment", or morality?

I think they meant mortality as in the old guard that have power and use it to protect their point of view die off and are replaced with a new guard that does the same.

Definitely mortality.

For those unfamiliar with how org structures work in academia/tenure... (at least, assume this is still true)

Once attaining tenure, your promotion track focuses on faculty leadership positions.

These positions are selected by a combination of administration & faculty. It varies institute to institute, but strong candidates usually have backing from both.

These positions are almost always held by tenured faculty, as non-tenure is looked down upon for historical/political reasons.

Note: You only need to please 2 types of stakeholders: administration & faculty.

Ergo, the path to promotion becomes:

   - Make tenure
   - Politick with faculty colleagues
   - Politick with administration
   - Wait for someone to die

This leads to a weird bent where your bosses (faculty) are selected for their ability to navigate political winds and say the thing that most people agree with, moreso than being disagreeably brilliant.

This came more from administrators in universities and funding agencies than the professors themselves, who are mostly dragged along for the ride, or go through whatever motions it takes to get promoted or obtain an administrator position. Tenure would actually work more against administrative abuse than for it.

>It ensures academic freedom.

Perhaps it used to, however a tenured professor can easily be "cancelled" today if their academic research or writing strays too far from home base. Frankly, I am not sure it ever did. It seems like it might have always been used more as a threat (by retraction) than anything else.