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Education in a crumbling democracy

2014; Routledge; Volume: 9; Issue: 2 Linguagem: Inglês

10.1080/17449642.2014.921973

1744-9650

Ingerid S. Straume,

Global Education and Multiculturalism

AbstractFrom a political viewpoint, education in a modern society can be said to have two functions. On the one hand, it takes care of the social reproduction; on the other, it represents society's capacity for self-reflection and conscious (political) change. Therefore, when the members of a society deliberate on educational aims and their justification, we could say that this society reflects upon itself. The essay discusses whether contemporary Western societies are still capable of such self-reflection and deliberation. By comparing ancient Athenian democracy with contemporary political arrangements, important connections between education and democracy are put into relief. A central question is whether democratic qualities – notably political responsibility and ‘the quest for truth’ – are still able to provide meaning in such a way that the most important problems of our time will be met by political action.Keywords:: political democracyeducationconspiracy theoriesclimate problemsCornelius Castoriadis Notes 1. Of course, there may be several motives for providing education for female students under suppressive conditions: i.e. humanitarian, political and more pragmatic ones. 2. Athens was not the only democracy in the Greek world, but it is usually chosen due to the richness of its sources. 3. For a good and detailed overview, see the works of Mogens Herman Hansen. 4. According to Castoriadis, the only ‘principle’ of Being was Chaos, and no extra-social guarantees were seen to exist to guarantee for the nomos (Castoriadis Citation1991a). As we know, the Greek gods were highly unpredictable and of little assistance in human beings' enterprises. For a discussion of religion and democratic politics, see Arnason et al. (Citation2013). 5. It is telling that the city of Athens and the Athenians were denoted with one and the same word, Aθñναι (athenai). 6. A common complaint against ancient democracy is that women and slaves were not included, thus forgetting that modern polities had exactly the same limitation until very recently (in most Western polities, women were not allowed to vote until a century ago, while Afro-Americans were still struggling to achieve civil and political rights 50 years later). 7. We can only speculate as to why this particular aspect of Athenian democracy – which, of course, was common practice at the time – is so frequently brought to the fore, and thus, directly or indirectly used to underplay the level of inclusion and demotic power that were in fact achieved at the time, casting doubts about the value of direct democracy. One possible explanation is of course the hegemonious status of liberal democracy (focusing on the rights of groups, rather than on political power), famously captured by Fukuyama's phrase ‘the end of history’. For a good discussion of the different origins of liberal rights and democratic power, see the works of Chantal Mouffe. 8. Feminists have observed this dynamic in various situations: As soon as women are included on a new arena, its status drops, and power moves elsewhere. Similarly, for modern democracies: even though people are increasingly included in various bodies of consultation and participation, the power to effectively decide and change existing power relations has not been improved. 9. Confer Ye'or (Citation2005); ‘The Gates of Vienna’ blog; ‘Jihad Watch’ and their associates. For a discussion, see, e.g. Straume Citation2012.10. Since August 2011, the Norwegian terrorist has gained many followers, on the internet and especially in right wing groups in Russia, where t-shirts picturing the Utöya massacre are worn. In Greece, his atrocious ‘manifesto’, which is a mixture of confused ideology and a manual for terrorists, has been translated and published as a book, sold in ordinary bookstores as ‘political philosophy’ (Gro Rørstabotten 2013, “Etterbyrden”. Klassekampen [Norwegian newspaper] March, 21).11. The absurdity became complete when, in 2013, the terrorist's ideological hero and a main proponent of the Eurabia theory, ‘Fjordman’, received a grant from the Norwegian Freedom of Speech Forum to share his story in the form of a book.12. It is therefore no surprise the main topic for discussion between the philosophers and sophists (rhetors) of Athens was paideia, or education, according to Jaeger (Citation1986).