Dictators provide strong incentives for the ruling clique; democracies provide more modest benefits for everyone else. For democracy to beat dictatorship, the dispersed population needs to have the skills and motivation to work collaboratively to defeat dictatorial coups and executive aggrandizement.
Education teaches skills, like reading and writing, that enable people to work collaboratively. At younger grades, teachers spend a lot of time teaching children how to get along. In the United States, education is strongly linked to civic engagement and membership in social groups. The ability to work together enables the defense of democracy.
One of the key moments in the recent history of democracy was the 1991 Soviet coup, in which the die-hard Soviets seemed poised to stop Russia’s rush to freedom.
The coup was thwarted by mass uprisings that were organized by well-educated Muscovites. They distributed fliers that brought out the crowds and used trolleys and street-cleaning machines to block the movements of tanks. One of my favorite episodes from this defense of democracy was the constant playing of music from Boris Godunov, a wordless reminder of the need to fight for freedom.
Argentina’s relatively low level of education in 1930 left it ill equipped to defend its democratic institutions against would-be dictators, who then adopted policies that impoverished the nation. Today, Argentina is well enough educated that its political prognosis is far more positive.
Instead, we must worry about the future of a democratic Afghanistan. The problematic recent elections in that country are unsurprising given its dearth of human capital. Given just the historical connection between education and democracy, the fight to foster freedom in that country is likely to be a long, uphill struggle.
No comments:
Post a Comment