In the interest of maintaining a semblance of sanity, I have not discussed or written about the presidential elections in quite some time. Pageantry now masquerades on the national stage as a substitute for critical thinking and substantive action. The decadence of American life lends itself to feelings of complacency or worse: nihilism. A growing faction of the country has resigned itself to a blueprint designed by their exploiters.
Nihilism is not an accident – it is a goal of capitalism. Despite all the democratic language about voting and education, the ruling class is not interested in a population of enlightened citizens. Consider the Clinton Campaign’s desire to produce an “unaware and compliant citizenry.” If intelligence were the aim, there would not be a systematic under-funding of public schools and a strong movement to privatize the ones that remain. The chief objective is to have a reservoir of obedient and disposable workers.
School (under capitalism) is about training, not education. The first lesson children learn is how to stand in a straight line; followed by coloring inside the lines. At its base, education is mostly about transforming curious and imaginative children into mindless adults. Under this economic regime, school is where dreams go to die. School is where people are taught that maintaining oppression is freedom and fighting for freedom is oppression. This paradox helps produce a paralyzing nihilism – which discourages alternative thoughts and actions. The crippling of the masses works to the advantage of those in power.
The challenge is to move from a passive sulking in our nihilism to an active indictment of the power structure. We must combat feelings of hopelessness and fight to construct a better world.
Zone of Non-being 
November 4, 2016 at 6:59 pm
I feel the need to ask: Which education system are you referring to in this post? While I strongly agree that nihilism should be fought against–I do not understand your attack on the education system as being a place “where people are taught that maintaining oppression is freedom and fighting for freedom is oppression.” I have not experienced this in education, and so I wonder where such strong feelings come from? Could you elaborate on that? Where did you go that education taught oppression is freedom?
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November 4, 2016 at 7:28 pm
Thank you for the question and the spirit in which you ask it. I am happy to answer!
I have attended both public and private institutions, at all levels of education. But I wish to step away from individual analyses, as I am interested in what educate does in maintaining a system of power.
Public schools are funded, to varying degrees, by the federal/state/local governments. This means that they have a hand in determining the curriculum. The goal is not to produce a citizenry that challenges it’s power, the goal is to have a bunch of people that accept it’s version of events. Textbooks are written in Texas – which has been slowly writing slavery out of history altogether.
Private/parochial schools are no different. All of these institutions are based on the political, economic, and social systems of capitalism, racism, and sexism. Of course, they pay lip service to egregious atrocities – but at the end of the day, prison/policing is legitimized. The male perspective is put on a pedestal. Capitalism is hailed and socialism is scoffed at. Native Americans aren’t even mentioned. They take the ontology of humanity (read: white, male) for granted – thus maintaining oppression.
Even at the college level, corporations are infiltrating departments with right wing agendas and money (Koch bros). If you cannot afford college, that’s another barrier.
I do not define oppression as someone saying “lock them up” like Trump. No. Maintaining oppression is subtle. Hillary is seeking to maintain oppression. Obama has maintained oppression.
Our education system teaches us that individuality is freedom. It teaches us to be personally responsible and all of that other capitalist garbage. That, right there, is using education to oppress, while simultaneously teaching them that they are free. We are social beings.
I will also point out that a lot of schools are using Common Core – which is a way of teaching to the test – and discouraging critical thinking more generally. Education has become about producing students that are “market ready”. A lot of this requires an understanding of capitalism and the ways it cheapens the creative capacities of a REAL education. As long as laborers are commodities on the market, we will not be receiving a real education. We will only be receiving enough education to do the paper work and run the machines to barely get by. (I have another post on my page titled “A Marxist Perspective and the Job Application Process” explaining this a bit more if you are interested. It all goes together.)
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November 4, 2016 at 7:33 pm
I invite you to read the works of bell hooks (“Teaching to Transgress”), Henry Giroux, and Paulo Freire (who argues that education is essentially a banking system of knowledge whereby students are simply commanded to deposit information into their brains and withdraw it later on).
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November 5, 2016 at 2:49 am
Public school taught me that I have a predetermined place in society and school will help ‘train’ me for that position. It’s a box-like mindset that is oppressive. How can one find purpose in life if they’ve been told there’s no need to, since they’ve been given one out of a random draw?
Private school taught me that I am there to lead, continue the legacy of various companies that made their profits off of the backs of starving people. Subtlety implying that I am “upper class” and should take all means to maintain it, even it means ‘oppressing others for my freedom’ of acquiring more money. Also should I feel that I have no ‘purpose’, I should throw a couple of bills to some charities in a highly publicised manner and all will be better.
In the end of it all, we are reduced to numbers slotted into different positions in society whilst education saying that it’s okay to accept that.
Also the privatisation of the remaining ones would lead to companies being able to mass produce their own workforce from a tender age. With the diverging ones being punished for their thinking and them embracing their individuality.
Furthermore, the fight against nihilism won’t be an easy one, too many people profit off of it.
Great post, one to pass on and share.
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November 5, 2016 at 3:37 am
Great points, Lita! I have had similar experiences.
I agree: “privatisation of the remaining ones would lead to companies being able to produce their own workforce from a tender age.” Beautifully stated!
You make an excellent point about public schools and private schools. It seems as if public schools are mimicking the curriculum of private schools – with all their discourse about “leadership” (fend for yourself, don’t worry about your fellow beings).
In many inner cities, public schools have become preparations for prison. There are armed guards and metal detectors. A lot of the teachers do not have a “stake” in the students – they would rather be teaching in the more glorious districts of the state (with the upper class, white students). A lot (of course, not all) of the teachers fear/resent the students and function more like surrogate figures for the criminal justice system. It is a school-to-prison-pipeline. It will undoubtedly be hard to disentangle the feelings of despair because there is far too much money wrapped up in this.
Thanks as always for reading and for your commentary. Always great talking with you!
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November 5, 2016 at 4:26 pm
I have never colored inside the lines and taught my kids to do the same! 😉
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November 5, 2016 at 9:43 pm
That’s great! We need more of that! 😀
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