Capitalism polarizes education, society

By Rodrigo Flores     9/24/09 7:00pm

As capitalism moves ever closer toward cultural universality, it is important to discuss whether our adoption of this particular socioeconomic system has brought the gains and advancements it is often credited with.It is generally agreed that capitalism is an effective means to economic growth, keeping innovation-breeding competition fervent while maintaining government regulation at minimum levels. Less consensus exists regarding the direct cultural effects of the world capitalist system; for example, when discussing the appearance and growth of capitalism in Asian cultures, there is debate as to whether the local culture facilitates and dictates the eventual implementation of capitalism, or the other way around.

Whatever the case may be, it is clear that economic and social changes go hand in hand, though it may not always be clear which is the chicken and which is the egg.

We can safely say the economic world system has played a role in enabling our development into today's modern, enlightened human race. The past few centuries have witnessed the decline of beliefs and practices - such as racism, slavery, ritual sacrifice and anti-intellectualism - at the same time that revolutions in labor practices, production methods and economic policy have taken place.

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We live in a time of unprecedented intellectual understanding, when people can become learned and cultured to a degree completely unfeasible fewer than 100 years ago. Millions of students graduate from the world's thousands of educational establishments every year.

Many proponents of capitalism argue that the available wealth of the world is not a finite "pie," but that we all have an opportunity to get as much pie as we want. I adopt a more cynical view that I believe is supported by the current human situation: There is only a certain amount of pie, and eating more pie means that someone else will get less.

Ergo, capitalism is an economic policy that stratifies society by polarizing the distribution of wealth. We cannot all be the wealthy capitalists. In fact, most of us will be the poor workers.

If society is stratified through the polarization of wealth, its stratification is preserved through the polarization of education. By not allowing the working class access to education, we are effectively acknowledging that the present social stratification is appropriate, while denying ourselves the benefits of a more enlightened, intelligent society.

The demonization of working-class life by the privileged classes - those with the opportunity for education - only serves to widen the rift between the two. Though we are increasingly aware of the powerful mechanisms that drive contemporary society, we continue to place the burden of labor upon those least able to cope with the responsibility. As justification, we use the pretense that it is not worthwhile to supply an education to one who, even with a fully-realized intellectual potential, will never use this to increase economic productivity.

Therein lies the reason for ignorance, an ignorance that allows the lower classes to be easily persuaded by political campaigns feigning concern with their needs, an ignorance that advertisers successfully target to sell them products they don't need at prices they can't afford.

Central to capitalism is the ethos that the only right amount of work that you can do is the most that you can do. As an example, if a technology comes along that allows a farmer to perform his work in half the time it took before, he should now do twice as much work in order to compensate. It is often necessary to increase productivity, or competition might overtake the farmer and put him out of business.

Your parents, when encouraging you to go to college, think in much the same way: If you're able to go to a good school and get a high-paying job, why would you work a job that would not make use of your full intellectual capacity? Why would you want to be a plumber with a comprehensive knowledge of medieval empires? Did you ever have a choice?

While it may seem that I am criticizing the effects of capitalism in order to segue into a promotion of socialist ideals, as my portrayal of the "working man's ordeal" would suggest, I am not. I would simply prefer to limit the discussion to the current and future state of the educational-professional duality.

As people with heightened intellectual curiosity and the talent to pursue it, it shouldn't be the case that the only acceptable professions are those which necessitate a high level of academic proficiency because they place us closer to profiting in the capitalist equation. Is it so difficult to imagine engaging your mechanic in an educated discussion about the latest developments in physics research, or listening to your hairdresser's carefully researched opinion on current and future fair trade agreements? What isn't difficult is guessing what you might ask them afterwards: "Why didn't you go to college?"

I hope it isn't too far-fetched to believe that if more of the college-educated chose to perform roles for which they would normally be considered "overqualified", we would be able to inspire many of those around us to partake in the abundant knowledge that our time on earth has left us. Is it impossible to inhabit a world where the majority of people are able to make conscious decisions about their choice of government, instead of having their vote bought with a free T-shirt and a bumper sticker?

Of course, all the imagination in the universe cannot change the fact that the financial and time commitments required to pursue a higher education remain beyond the reach of the overwhelming majority of the world's population. As graduation rolls around for the senior class, and many of us - myself probably included - prepare to enter the world capitalist system, I find myself wondering where our continued skewing of the social distribution of educated individuals will lead us, and if capitalism is in this case the egg, or more likely, the chicken.

Rodrigo Flores is a Martel College senior.

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