• tiredturtle@lemmy.ml
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    22 hours ago

    Educated people won’t stay obedient. That’s why reactionary powers historically avoid aiming for truly educated masses—they prefer a controlled education system that reinforces their ideology, not one that fosters critical thinking or revolutionary action.

    China’s ambitious education plan seems to promise quality and accessibility, but we must ask: what kind of education will it promote? True education awakens class consciousness and challenges power structures, but education shaped by the state can become a tool for reinforcing conformity, obedience, and the status quo.

    As Marxist theory teaches us, the ruling class controls not just the means of production but also the means of ideas. The flex here is not in building ‘education power,’ but in demonstrating the capacity to shape minds for the future workforce, ensuring stability within their system of production and governance. In this context, the plan isn’t just about making smarter citizens; it’s about making a more compliant society under the guise of progress.

    • Cowbee [he/they]@lemmy.ml
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      18 hours ago

      What is the ruling class in the PRC? Very important question to answer if you think investing in education will weaken the PRC, not strengthen it.

    • ByteJunk@lemmy.world
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      20 hours ago

      What’s your argument? That they should implement the “American Way” - crush education and paywal it so only the elite can have it while the rest of the nation lives in ignorance?

      Because if they end up with a highly educated, liberal population, mankind may actually have a chance to avoid extinction…

      • tiredturtle@lemmy.ml
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        19 hours ago

        I’m not arguing. The American Way is already how the ruling class stifles the people

    • LovableSidekick@lemmy.world
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      21 hours ago

      They can indoctrinate for a while, but education (as opposed to vocational training) inherently encourages critical thinking skills that make people progressively more resistant to the indoctrination.