Interesting summary of a paper: The key insight is that women have always been more [economically] left-wing than men, but that women were also more religious (both vs today and vs men) and that this was a moderating force against those left-wing views. With religion in retreat, those views now take voice.
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There have been 80,000 recorded UFO sightings since 1906. Four-fifths of extraterrestrials have chosen to visit the United States--probably because they speak English.
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Curious we have such a good understanding of Putin's plans with Novotny but his invasion of Ukraine was a complete surprise.
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Priorities
Most people would not think the value of education would be debatable, especially when so many of the generally accepted parameters are being underachieved. Hidden within education is the assumption that a fulfilled, achieving, successful individual is a unit of the successful state.
Not so fast.
In a discrete choice experiment in which bureaucrats in education were asked to make trade-offs between foundational literacy, completion of secondary school, and formation of dutiful citizens, respondents valued dutiful citizens 50% more than literate ones. For many policymakers, the goal is not the production of knowledge, but the fostering of nationalism.
This may sound like an odd set of priorities, but both European and Latin American countries had similar priorities when they expanded their education systems to serve more than a small elite around the turn of the 20th century. The goal was not to produce scientists or entrepreneurs but to inculcate a reliable workforce that would support the state.
…Developing-country schools are trying to achieve much the same ends. Students learn to memorize, to obey, and to not question — but they do not particularly learn to read or write. But then again, that was never the goal — developing countries are following the path trod on by developed countries. Like developed countries, they will try to “teach ordinary people obedience, respect for the law, [and] love of order.”
In a discrete choice experiment in which bureaucrats in education were asked to make trade-offs between foundational literacy, completion of secondary school, and formation of dutiful citizens, respondents valued dutiful citizens 50% more than literate ones. For many policymakers, the goal is not the production of knowledge, but the fostering of nationalism.
This may sound like an odd set of priorities, but both European and Latin American countries had similar priorities when they expanded their education systems to serve more than a small elite around the turn of the 20th century. The goal was not to produce scientists or entrepreneurs but to inculcate a reliable workforce that would support the state.
…Developing-country schools are trying to achieve much the same ends. Students learn to memorize, to obey, and to not question — but they do not particularly learn to read or write. But then again, that was never the goal — developing countries are following the path trod on by developed countries. Like developed countries, they will try to “teach ordinary people obedience, respect for the law, [and] love of order.”
National achievement does not just rank ahead of personal achievement; personal achievement is actively sacrificed for the state, by the state.
While this is hardly scientific, here's another bit of unscientific information. There is also an interesting correlation between countries that encourage dutiful citizens in schools and countries that invest in government-owned TV stations.
While this is hardly scientific, here's another bit of unscientific information. There is also an interesting correlation between countries that encourage dutiful citizens in schools and countries that invest in government-owned TV stations.
Always trying to remind us: The stability of the state comes first.
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