Thomas Sowell explains perfectly why leftism is so prevalent in places like academia and government.

His reasoning is that leftist ideology does not work in the real world - it can only exist in places that allow it to -such as education, government (really any public sector) where those same bad ideas have consequences in the 'real world'

Just like you won't find fish swimming in a tree or a bear in the ocean, you won't find leftists succeeding in a free market economic venture. There is a very Darwinist component to this, as humans are very much products of evolution.