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The power given to the masses vs the ruling class is always in flux. The light may go out, but it won't be forever. I'm also hopeful that the requirement for a

by tvier 1y ago

The power given to the masses vs the ruling class is always in flux. The light may go out, but it won't be forever. I'm also hopeful that the requirement for a well educated workforce will nudge societies towards more freedom than the historical norm.

stinkbeetle 1y ago
> The power given to the masses vs the ruling class is always in flux. The light may go out, but it won't be forever. Impossible to be so sure. > I'm also hopeful that the requirement for a well educated workforce will nudge societies towards more freedom than the historical norm. "The educated" have been among the most susceptible to authoritarian tendencies and propaganda, so I would not be too hopeful of that. https://jacobin.com/2022/10/chahla-chafiq-iranian-left-khomeini-protests-feminism https://jacobin.com/2022/10/chahla-chafiq-iranian-left-khome... https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Red_Guards https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Red_Guards https://www.bbc.co.uk/history/historic_figures/pot_pol.shtml https://www.bbc.co.uk/history/historic_figures/pot_pol.shtml Also there have been demonstrated to be other ways around the problem of educated population. Divide them against other classes of the population for example. Or subsidize and encourage non-productive people. And even if everyone was educated and wanted better, how would they ever vote for more individual rights and freedoms if the suppression of those rights is the only thing keeping them safe from other groups in their country?
- Aeolun 1y ago
  > Impossible to be so sure. Forever is a long time. I’m betting on ‘not forever’.
api 1y ago
All authoritarian societies have their priesthoods, knighthoods, police forces, scribes, etc., or their modern equivalents, essentially a small middle class afforded more wealth and more rights than the peasantry. Couple this with the fact that educated people often buy into authoritarian ideologies. At least that’s what I’ve seen. If there is any legitimate basis behind American anti-intellectualism this is it.

by tvier 1y ago

stinkbeetle 1y ago

> The power given to the masses vs the ruling class is always in flux. The light may go out, but it won't be forever. Impossible to be so sure. > I'm also hopeful that the requirement for a well educated workforce will nudge societies towards more freedom than the historical norm. "The educated" have been among the most susceptible to authoritarian tendencies and propaganda, so I would not be too hopeful of that. https://jacobin.com/2022/10/chahla-chafiq-iranian-left-khomeini-protests-feminism https://jacobin.com/2022/10/chahla-chafiq-iranian-left-khome... https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Red_Guards https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Red_Guards https://www.bbc.co.uk/history/historic_figures/pot_pol.shtml https://www.bbc.co.uk/history/historic_figures/pot_pol.shtml Also there have been demonstrated to be other ways around the problem of educated population. Divide them against other classes of the population for example. Or subsidize and encourage non-productive people. And even if everyone was educated and wanted better, how would they ever vote for more individual rights and freedoms if the suppression of those rights is the only thing keeping them safe from other groups in their country?

Aeolun 1y ago
> Impossible to be so sure. Forever is a long time. I’m betting on ‘not forever’.

api 1y ago

All authoritarian societies have their priesthoods, knighthoods, police forces, scribes, etc., or their modern equivalents, essentially a small middle class afforded more wealth and more rights than the peasantry. Couple this with the fact that educated people often buy into authoritarian ideologies. At least that’s what I’ve seen. If there is any legitimate basis behind American anti-intellectualism this is it.