[lbo-talk] 'American kids, dumber than dirt'

[Miles Jackson]

Doug Henwood wrote:
>
> You know, it's not the kids' fault. If there are things about the  
> direction of capitalist societies we don't like - more competition,  
> more materialism, more atomization - won't that be reflected in the  
> development of children?
>
> Doug
>   
Yes, certainly.  That's one of the reasons why more and more people are 
receiving formal education and being indoctrinated into "scientific 
modes of thought".  The trend is clear: more and more jobs require 
formal education credentials.  To effectively compete in the job market, 
people are compelled to get more formal education and develop their 
"academic" skills, whether they want to or not.  I will agree that these 
are the conditions for creating competitive, materialistic people.  
However, one of the consequences of these capitalist social relations is 
the diffusion of formal education throughout the population.  --This 
reminds me of old whisker's argument in the Manifesto about the positive 
effects of the capitalist world market: the need for a constantly 
expanding market changes people's lives in profound ways and creates new 
social relations, new possibilities.  Just so with formal education.

Miles