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This always frustrates me with the debate around how to help developing economies. Widespread education isn't really needed until pretty late in an economy's de
by tormeh 12y ago
This always frustrates me with the debate around how to help developing economies. Widespread education isn't really needed until pretty late in an economy's development. Widespread education is only necessary in a post-industrialized economy. Developing nations will do fine with basic literacy/numeracy until their economies are sufficiently advanced as to require higher levels of education to advance.
- albemuth 12y agoHow does a developing nation become post-industrialized with basic literacy/numeracy. Honest question.
- tormeh 12y agoForeign investments + a small elite that can order people around. The education level in Britain during the industrial revolution was pretty low, and it follows that any higher would be unnecessary for a developing country. It would be different if you wanted to skip the sweatshop-stage, but I don't think any country of any size really has. Making use of higher education requires an economy in which they are useful, and to build such an economy requires enormous capital expenditures in infrastructure, manufacturing goods etc. What good are skills, if you have neither the tools of the trade nor the problems to apply them to?
- bsbechtel 12y agoI would add to that the majority of citizens in the US were illiterate up until the early 1900s. The country was pretty deep into the industrial revolution at that point.