A Vital Relationship Between Higher Education and Democracy and Its Paradoxes - Term Paper Example

 E Vital Relationship between Higher Education and Democracy and Its Paradoxes Abstract In this paper an effort has been made to derive a type of relationship between higher education and Democracy and its paradoxes. In the first part of this paper, light is thrown on the meaning and importance of education by surveying different views of various writers about education and its significance. In the next section, a brief description is given on the meaning and history of democracy. The third and the core part of this paper begins by defining the paradox of democracy and is composed of two sub-sections i.e. elements of education and democracy. After making an in-depth analysis of their elements, the result is presented in the last section of the paper as the conclusion. The conclusion that there exists a direct relation between higher education and democracy and an inverse relation between education and the paradox of democracy is realized with the help of an equation. Education and its Importance Structured and institutionalized education is one of the greatest differences between man and animal. We can define education as a collection of mature and developed thoughts of civilization. According to Mill ‘On Liberty’ (1999) “education is essentially the skillful manipulation of sequences of thoughts or impressions.” (p. 14). This is one of the factors that transforms human beings into men who are superior to all other existing creatures of the world. Education performs multiple functions in man’s life, for example it inculcates in us what to think, how to think, and why to think at all. It not only teaches us; but also introduces us to the various purposes of our individual lives. It enriches man with the asset of thoughtfulness. It is education that opens up a variety of prospects by which we analyse the facts of our life. Henry David Thoreau stated in his book ‘Life without principle’ (1936) “If a man walks in the woods for love of them, half of each day, he is in danger of being regarded as a loafer; but if he spends his whole day as a speculator, and shearing off those woods and making earth bald before her time, he is an esteemed industrious and enterprising citizen.” (p. 3). By reading these lines different people can make varying conclusions. For example, for some people a man who wanders in the woods for its love can be a poet and a romantic/sensitive person; whilst for some he can be a loafer. Similarly, for some a man who shears off earth before her time can be industrious; but for other he can be one who destroys and mutilates life. This divergent thinking pattern is due to the courtesy of education which fertilizes our mind; and with this fertility we are able to think from individual angles. If we start studying the history of mankind right from the beginning; we will realize that it is education that breaks many shackles; education which had been stigmatizing the superior status of mankind for decades as Lessing (2009) put forth “And who can say for how many millions of years human reason would have been bewildered in these errors, even though in all places and time there were individual men who recognized them as errors, had it not pleased God to afford it a better direction by means of a new impulse?” (P: 5) Education has bestowed mankind with unlimited benefits, for instance it introduced the concept of civilization, society, culture, ethics, norms, behavior, law, justice, and above all humanity. A man is born with the craving for three things: pleasure, fame and assets. In the Stone Age, man battled with his opponent in order to secure these three things from him. The story of the first murder, that of Abel by his elder brother Cain is a clear evidence of this phenomena. For some historians and religious scholars the primary motive behind that first killing was to gain God’s favor whilst for others it was committed simply for the attainment of woman; i.e, the satisfaction of man’s sexual drive No matter what the actual reasons may have been, one thing is for sure and that is the presence of brute in man. With the passing of time and the growing consciences of enlightened man, this inner brute was tamed and along with many other factors, education also played a vital role in this context. John Stuart Mill, Edward Alexander wrote in the book ‘On Liberty’ (1999) “education is the sovereign remedy for individual and class inferiority, and the means for raising the whole human race to the level of its noblest individuals.” (p. 14). So in simple words it would be pertinent to say that a man is surrounded by trillions of desires, some of which are legal whilst some are not. And it is education that bridles up the fierce horse of man’s desire. Education gives us the concept of legality and draws a clear line of distinction between legal and illicit means. Now it is up to a man’s conscience what to choose and what to follow. The path lays clear before individuals. If they pick illegal means to live life; law shackles their unlawful conducts; on the contrary if they choose legal ways the same law rewards them. Democracy In ancient civilizations, there was always a king to rule people, who implemented laws which were to be abided by the public. In even older times, there were chiefs/leaders of clans/groups. Then with the passing of time, the place of chiefs were taken by emperors; who used to govern huge states. Later on, with the progress of mankind emperors were replaced by Presidents and Prime Ministers. Although monarchy is not absolutely abolished from today’s world; most of the countries of the world are following the presidential system of government, or at least attempting to. For instance, there prevails absolute monarchy in the kingdom of Saudi Arabia; whilst in the United Kingdom the government type is contrastingly Constitutional Monarchy. The history of government type is as long as the history of mankind. Few questions have long been in man’s mind for centuries, like what should be the type of government for their society. Or how to govern? On which principles should the carcass of the government depend upon? What are the rules of government? What is the selection criteria of a ruler? What should the role of people and bureaucrats and aristocrats in deciding the ruler be? During the process of determining the right type of government for the people, there emerges the concept of democracy, which is the government which claims to be by the people, of the people and for the people. The philosophical thoughts of democracy can be traced out in the views of Plato, the great Greek philosopher who preferred democracy over monarchy and other types of government. Following out Platonic thought, Joseph Bright Skemp stated regarding the development of political views of Plato in the book ‘Plato's Statesman’ (1987) “The ease with which the tyranny can succeed democracy was, no doubt, first brought home to him by the circumstances of the rise of Dionysius I to power in Syracuse; and we find him reminding the friends Dion of this danger nearly forty years later in 353 B.C.” (p. 36). Relation between Higher Education and democracy and its paradoxes A paradoxical statement or concept means a statement in which two contradictory views are prevailing at the same time. Paradoxes of democracy mean two view points that divide philosophers into two streams: those that favor democracy as an ideal government form and the others who oppose it. For many philosophers/historians and politicians, democracy is the most effective type of government because there is no fear of concentration of power in the hands of one or a few individuals or groups. The concentration of power within few blocs of societal segment is not only the root cause of many social problems but is also considered one of the big reasons behind the failure of many forms of governments in the past and present. On the other hand, for some academics Democracy is not the type of government which is suitable for mankind. This school of thought is of the view that the structure of democracy is based on the elements of trust, certainty, transparency, stability, and accountability which is not possible to attain by an elected person. The reasoning behind this view is that after an elected person takes charge the first thing, that he or she does is to satisfy the stakeholders who have supported him/her in their democratic campaign and in this pursuit all the initial goals and incentives that were set for the public and common man are forgotten or sidelined. Thus ultimately in democracy, power also begins to be concentrated into the hands of the elected person’s financial supporters and stakeholders. In this situation, one has to contemplate how democracy falls into the category of the best form of government. However in an ideal scenario, if the elected person fulfils their promises and commitments with the public then Democracy does fit into the niche of an appropriate and effective government form. But since this is not the real world scenario, there is a paradox within the folds of democracy and what it asserts as its foundations. In actuality it becomes dependant on the elected person, whether he or she establishes the real essence of democracy or not. In order to find out the relationship between education and democracy and the paradoxes it holds, we have to examine the constituting elements of education and democracy. Elements of Education The system of education is heavily based on honesty, trust, equality, justice, certainty, transparency, stability, communication, accountability and continuity. While designing an education policy, one has to be honest with the historical events of not only the country but also of the world. For example what is the history of human civilization, society and laws? How do nations develop? Why do nations fight? , etc. In following with that, education systems should be based on equality as well. For example, the same level of education should be provided to both the poor and the rich. No discrimination should be made simply on the basis of financial difference. This would undermine the basis of educational objectives. After all, education is the name of awareness, maturity, and consciousness which is necessary equally for all segments of the society. The element of trust implies that education system should be made and implemented with the mutual understanding of government and public and this is only possible when public fully trust in its government. The education process needs be continuous because unexpected and unnecessary stoppages and changes can hamper the real essence of education. As John Dewey stated in his book ‘Democracy and Education’ (2004) “The continuity of any experience, through renewing of social groups, is a literal fact. Education, in its broadest sense, is the mean of this social continuity of life.” (p. 2). The elements of transparency, stability, accountability, justice, and certainty are necessary to support the element of trust. Communication is the process of sharing whilst education is not possible without communication or it would be pertinent to say that education is attained by the tool of communication. Elements of Democracy Democracy is the government type in which an elected person is obliged to honestly deliver whatsoever he has been pledged before taking the oath. If they break the trust of people once by not enforcing the required virtues like justice, transparency, stability, accountability, communication in the country then it will not only create mistrust among the citizens regarding them and the entire government’s accountability but also inevitably lead to doubts on the appropriateness of the democratic structure. Democracy is a political system comprising of four primary pillars: free and fair election whenever required, fair and timely accountability of the state institutions if required to the elected representatives, a free right to vote, complete freedom of expression /association and absolute protection against any illogical and illegal state action. And the power of trust and honesty is required in order to empower all the above stated pillars. Like democracy, education is also a political system that is solely based on communication or more appropriately, it is originated when the public communicates its needs to the democratic person who address them all after taking change of the designated office. Conclusion Since the structure of education and democracy is based on the same elements, we can say that there exists a direct relation between education and democracy but an inverse relation between education and the paradoxes of democracy i.e. the higher the education, the more the inclination towards democracy and lesser will be its paradoxes. This relation can be written as: ↑Education → ↑Trust/honesty/ justice/ transparency/ stability/ accountability → Democracy↑ →Democracy Paradoxes↓ In a word, education and democracy are the essential basis of our society because human society cannot be sustained without the elements of justice, trust, accountability, equality, security, certainty and communication. Reference John Dewey. J. (2004). Democracy and Education. Courier Dover Publications. Lessing. G. E (2009). The Education of the Human Race. BiblioBazaar, LLC. Mill.J. S, Alexander. E (1999). On Liberty. Broadview Press. Plato, Skemp. J.B (1987). Plato's Statesman. Associated University Presse (2). Thoreau. H. D (1936). Life without principle. Forgotten Books, vol. 5. Read More