The Failure of Social Education or Just Going Down the Road of Post-Democratic Politics?

Abstract

The paper “American democracy is distress: The failure of social education” presents several “symptoms of democracy’s dysfunction in the United States”. These include the extreme reliance on campaign contributions, giving the donors – economic elites and groups representing business, frequently operating at a transnational level – an excessive power in determining government policy in areas such as the environment, media or fiscal regulations, as profusely exemplified in the paper. At the same time, policies impose restrictions on citizens’ rights in areas such as voting, healthcare or employment. In this sense, the power gap between citizens and economic elites in the form of a global capital is growing and, as it goes undisputed and unchallenged, menaces the core of democracy itself. On the second part of the paper, the author rests on the classical assumption of “democracy’s dependence on and educated citizenry” but also on the recognition that this is a marginal concern in educational policy, discourse and practice. The need for a political education that will “prepare democratic citizens who can participate critically and effectively in shaping the direction and quality of social life” is therefore seen as an essential role of public schooling. However, “there is little concern that high school students are not often asked to critique the structure of society and its institutions, and imagine other possibilities”. In the author’s opinion, this has been contributing to a decline in voter turnout, but also to a deficit in political knowledge, political interest and civic engagement, that substantiate the vision that “Millennials, far from being civic-minded, are the most narcissistic generation in recent history”. Finally, schools appear to be overwhelmed with other concerns – standardized testing or the emphasis on employability skills – and political education is not really a priority: