Democracy without Education is Tyranny and Exploitation

This heading reflects the end of my last post, but I believe that the assertion needs clarification. The ambiguity does not lie in the words 'democracy' and 'tyranny', which in this context are explicit enough. No, the problem regards how we define education. We need only consider the re-education programmes currently going on in Xinjiang China, fake news (and "alternative facts") or the general brain-washing tactics used by authoritarian states, for alarm bells to start ringing. So what education am I talking about? The one that fits nicely with my ideas of globalisation, open borders, tolerance and suspicion towards religious power? No, of course not: that would be indoctrination. I spent much of my adult life working in the Social Services sector in London and the accepted mantra when offering care was "informed choice". Sometimes, owing to advanced Alzheimer's or other such reasons, the choice may have simply boiled down to: "Elsie, would you like to wear the blue dress today, or the red one", as you dangled them out for Elsie to inspect. That is acceptable, but asking a group of elderly residents in a home what they would like to watch on television, would be totally meaningless, unless you informed them of what programmes were on offer at that particular time. Elsie may not remember what the red or blue dress looked like, hence the importance of holding them out to her. 

A bit like Brexit, really. Do you want to be in or out of the EU? What does that actually mean? Two years on and even the parliamentarians do not seem to know. Indeed, it is a complex issue and could mean different things depending on how you go about it. But were the people given an informed choice? Quite the contrary, campaigns, particularly (if not exclusively) those of the 'Leave' faction were full of disinformation. And yet, Prime Minister Theresa May, like an old fashioned record that got stuck, keeps repeating that the people had their say and that now their choice must be respected. If not, she asserts that democracy and trust would be jeopardised. "Nebulous", yes, but "stupid" to boot? I doubt she can be that stupid, though I could be wrong. Dishonest, then? Who knows what her ulterior motives are, but one thing is certain. The people voted in the dark. And that, sadly is what much of democracy is today.

If Elsie's son believes that foreigners threaten British culture and that homosexuals should rot in hell, should he be educated out of that? Education is like a light, but at the end of the day people still see what they want to see. But the light needs to be shone. There are no such things as "alternative facts".

       A refreshing view on Education and on e that should be taken seriously, despite the exquisite humour in the presentation

Let us take the example of threats to national cultures as an example. Dismissing these fears is not only counterproductive, but in most cases probably wrong. This attitude is dangerous and it is often the complacency of well-meaning ideologies that fuel populism. There may be threats. Do these, however, outweigh the benefits? Are they inevitable? How can can we ensure local cultures are preserved and allowed to evolve? How will the government help? So what people need are facts and choices. In the case of Brexit, more facts are now there, but sadly the choice is categorically denied. 

Democracy therefore needs education. Classes in social and political awareness, reasoning skills and critical thinking and... yes... tolerance.