Regarding knowledge in society--just a quick aside as I looked over this very interesting post: One thing that has struck me, especially since the rise of Trump, is how little so many people (especially ardent Trump supporters) seem to understand the Constitution and related basic political concepts. For example: Trump and heavy supporters seem not to understand (or possibly care) that various office holders owe their loyalty to the Constitution and not to the person of the president--or that the running of a government is not the same thing as the running of a business. Further--concepts and labels such as "Socialist" or "Communist" are thrown around wildy and indiscriminately (against Democrats)--and we also need to be careful about what is entailed in the concept of Fascism. I once read that Ivanka Trump insisted that Liberalism and Libertarianism are the same thing. I don't know how true this story is--but I certainly see other people making that assertion. When I was growing up in New York City/State in the 1950's and 1960's, the state curriculum at that time required us to learn the Constitution in high school. I emerged from that experience, hardly a constitutional scholar, but with a basic understanding of that document (and as Trump is of my generation, and grew up in New York City/State, he should have learned all of that as well). I don't know what goes on in schooling today--but it would seem we need basic civics: learning the constitutional system, and the definition of basic political orientations such as why one idea (Socialism) is not the other (American Democrat). Surely everyone, elites and anyone else, can accept that.
Or maybe the Democratic Party appeals to college educated while Republicans appeal to H.S. and trade? Whether that was just a matter of policy or a deliberate attempt to appeal to those segments is a matter of argument. But there's no lack of the educated elite having debates on the Republican stage. And one didn't have any qualm in throwing his Stanford education in our faces right here.
I’d suggest, instead, that we encourage our elites (and their critics) to lower their expectations, acknowledge uncertainty, treat proposals for new programs or reforms of old ones as experiments, and acknowledge failure when it happens (as it inevitably will). The way it is now, those who rule in the name of expertise don’t want to concede errors for fear of losing their power and the honors that go with it, while those who criticize these experts gain political advantage by exaggerating the scope of elite errors, treating them as revelatory of the entire system’s rottenness. We would be much better off if both sides displayed quite a bit more modesty and honesty.
To my mind this paragraph captures the essence of true conservatism. It’s a shame that the name is now ascribed to ascribed to a collection of greed and power obsessed bigots and cynics.
I can’t help wondering if the working class were simply paid more for their labor, much of their resentment of so called educated elites would disappear. There is no longer a wage gap between those with a college education and those without, there is an ever widening chasm.
But not everyone wants or is suited for study in a liberal arts style post elementary institution. Our Jr. College system which currently might offer certain certificate courses, depending on where they are, could be expanded to include many more trades and offered to anyone wishing to earn certification in a trade such that they can enter the workforce enabled to demand a higher wage, a wage that can support a family, a wage that can allow that family to purchase a home.
I don’t think those without a college degree resent that the “elites” have more education. I think they resent that the supposedly more educated get a lot more money. Of course they feel devalued.
Yes, as Plato implies, theory is one thing and practice is another.
Regarding the American elites, they are educated primarily through the system of higher education, and especially at elite schools. However, in those schools now DEI statements are required of those submitting resumes for professorships, and in some cases these statements are evaluated even before the candidate’s resume is reviewed. To criticize DEI in any fashion is the kiss of death for a candidate. Also, of course for several years now speakers regarded as conservative are prevented from speaking. And in the publishing field, pressure has been applied to publishing houses to decline to publish certain manuscripts or efforts are made to discourage people from reading certain books (e.g., “American Dirt” because of cultural appropriation). Ironically, it is the liberal elites that are now undermining meritocracy both in higher education (affirmative action) and through organizations such as the American Medical Association (changing to pass-fail grading for the exams given after first-year medical school).
Although the Trump-supporting working class has tied itself to personal loyalty that represents a kind of demagoguery, the liberal elites have attached themselves to an ideology which likewise undermines democracy.
Regarding those non-elites, democracy does depend to a certain extent on the common sense of ordinary people, on their ability to make reasonably good judgements about what is in their best interests, the interests of their loved ones, and even of the community in which they live. Without this, you might as well have some form of autocracy or aristocracy.
The current attitudes and actions of both elites and non-elites, raises the question of what kind of education citizens need in a democracy. Here I speak of K-12 because it provides the basis for civic conduct. I am quite sure that a majority of American citizens now could not even pass the test which immigrants must take to become citizens. The ability to grasp certain essentials about our institutions, the democratic process, and our history are essential to creating citizens that function responsibly in civil society. Both the liberal elites and politicians like Trump are undermining and distorting this important social task.
I wish people could see how this wisdom is baked into our political system, and this is the place for my favorite hobby horse - the obvious need to get rid of the 17th Amendment and make the Senate elite again. Then there's a house of the People, a house of the Elite, and a President who sort of straddles the line and makes the two work together.
Demonstrating a degree more modesty and honesty, even if only one degree, would be an admirable accomplishment. "Prediction is difficult, especially about the future."
Regarding knowledge in society--just a quick aside as I looked over this very interesting post: One thing that has struck me, especially since the rise of Trump, is how little so many people (especially ardent Trump supporters) seem to understand the Constitution and related basic political concepts. For example: Trump and heavy supporters seem not to understand (or possibly care) that various office holders owe their loyalty to the Constitution and not to the person of the president--or that the running of a government is not the same thing as the running of a business. Further--concepts and labels such as "Socialist" or "Communist" are thrown around wildy and indiscriminately (against Democrats)--and we also need to be careful about what is entailed in the concept of Fascism. I once read that Ivanka Trump insisted that Liberalism and Libertarianism are the same thing. I don't know how true this story is--but I certainly see other people making that assertion. When I was growing up in New York City/State in the 1950's and 1960's, the state curriculum at that time required us to learn the Constitution in high school. I emerged from that experience, hardly a constitutional scholar, but with a basic understanding of that document (and as Trump is of my generation, and grew up in New York City/State, he should have learned all of that as well). I don't know what goes on in schooling today--but it would seem we need basic civics: learning the constitutional system, and the definition of basic political orientations such as why one idea (Socialism) is not the other (American Democrat). Surely everyone, elites and anyone else, can accept that.
Or maybe the Democratic Party appeals to college educated while Republicans appeal to H.S. and trade? Whether that was just a matter of policy or a deliberate attempt to appeal to those segments is a matter of argument. But there's no lack of the educated elite having debates on the Republican stage. And one didn't have any qualm in throwing his Stanford education in our faces right here.
I’d suggest, instead, that we encourage our elites (and their critics) to lower their expectations, acknowledge uncertainty, treat proposals for new programs or reforms of old ones as experiments, and acknowledge failure when it happens (as it inevitably will). The way it is now, those who rule in the name of expertise don’t want to concede errors for fear of losing their power and the honors that go with it, while those who criticize these experts gain political advantage by exaggerating the scope of elite errors, treating them as revelatory of the entire system’s rottenness. We would be much better off if both sides displayed quite a bit more modesty and honesty.
To my mind this paragraph captures the essence of true conservatism. It’s a shame that the name is now ascribed to ascribed to a collection of greed and power obsessed bigots and cynics.
I can’t help wondering if the working class were simply paid more for their labor, much of their resentment of so called educated elites would disappear. There is no longer a wage gap between those with a college education and those without, there is an ever widening chasm.
But not everyone wants or is suited for study in a liberal arts style post elementary institution. Our Jr. College system which currently might offer certain certificate courses, depending on where they are, could be expanded to include many more trades and offered to anyone wishing to earn certification in a trade such that they can enter the workforce enabled to demand a higher wage, a wage that can support a family, a wage that can allow that family to purchase a home.
I don’t think those without a college degree resent that the “elites” have more education. I think they resent that the supposedly more educated get a lot more money. Of course they feel devalued.
Yes, as Plato implies, theory is one thing and practice is another.
Regarding the American elites, they are educated primarily through the system of higher education, and especially at elite schools. However, in those schools now DEI statements are required of those submitting resumes for professorships, and in some cases these statements are evaluated even before the candidate’s resume is reviewed. To criticize DEI in any fashion is the kiss of death for a candidate. Also, of course for several years now speakers regarded as conservative are prevented from speaking. And in the publishing field, pressure has been applied to publishing houses to decline to publish certain manuscripts or efforts are made to discourage people from reading certain books (e.g., “American Dirt” because of cultural appropriation). Ironically, it is the liberal elites that are now undermining meritocracy both in higher education (affirmative action) and through organizations such as the American Medical Association (changing to pass-fail grading for the exams given after first-year medical school).
Although the Trump-supporting working class has tied itself to personal loyalty that represents a kind of demagoguery, the liberal elites have attached themselves to an ideology which likewise undermines democracy.
Regarding those non-elites, democracy does depend to a certain extent on the common sense of ordinary people, on their ability to make reasonably good judgements about what is in their best interests, the interests of their loved ones, and even of the community in which they live. Without this, you might as well have some form of autocracy or aristocracy.
The current attitudes and actions of both elites and non-elites, raises the question of what kind of education citizens need in a democracy. Here I speak of K-12 because it provides the basis for civic conduct. I am quite sure that a majority of American citizens now could not even pass the test which immigrants must take to become citizens. The ability to grasp certain essentials about our institutions, the democratic process, and our history are essential to creating citizens that function responsibly in civil society. Both the liberal elites and politicians like Trump are undermining and distorting this important social task.
I wish people could see how this wisdom is baked into our political system, and this is the place for my favorite hobby horse - the obvious need to get rid of the 17th Amendment and make the Senate elite again. Then there's a house of the People, a house of the Elite, and a President who sort of straddles the line and makes the two work together.
Demonstrating a degree more modesty and honesty, even if only one degree, would be an admirable accomplishment. "Prediction is difficult, especially about the future."