This is a companion piece to my article on 1950s America. My theory is that reading, writing and arithmetic are overrated. I believe that these are worthy skills that produce positive results for society. But we cannot view human beings as cogs. Running them all through the same machine is not only rooted in collectivism, but it’s a very new approach and we are only beginning to realize the consequences. Industrialization and the Cold War are the main culprits in my theory, but as with all things, the root of the problem is complex. Let’s examine.
Arthur Miller’s The Crucible is required reading in most high school curriculum. The book is based on the Salem Witch trials of 1692 and is designed to shock readers into disbelief of the horrors of Puritan life. But the book is far more subversive than that. It’s designed to teach the reader that evil people do things for no reason. They hang witches because of crude, superstitious beliefs. It’s a very anti-religious book. But it’s a very important book, because generations of Americans have been taught to think like this on a wide variety of issues.
The real Salem Trials were much more complicated. It is no secret that Puritans lived by a very strict moral code, crude by today’s standards. But they weren’t hanging people for no reason. There were crimes being committed that lead to these accusations. Theft and indecency were serious offenses in not only Salem, but most parts of the world in the 17th century. The criticisms of the Puritans are that they ruled by religious decree, which is backwards and evil. But all societies base their laws on a moral code, often derived from organized religion. The Puritans were not unique.
Most high schools have you read The Crucible at the same time you’re learning about Senator Joseph McCarthy and “McCarthyism” in your Social Studies class. This is by design. Because McCarthyism is always taught as a “modern-day Salem Witch trial.” During the height of the Cold War, McCarthy had reason to believe that there were Communist infiltrators in key positions within the United States government. Committees were formed, and trials ensued. Government officials were “accused” of crimes just like the women in 1692 Salem.
The approved-history version of this is that McCarthy, a drunkard and a bigot with antiquated beliefs, was accusing innocent people of crimes based on his backwards ideology. But as the Venona Papers proved, McCarthy was right. There were at least 500 Communist infiltrators in the United States government at the time. And Arthur Miller, writer of The Crucible, was also a Communist. Why was America using Communist propaganda in its education system, when they were fighting the Communists?
Because things are never that simple and require you to think beyond binary lines. This is a key point in my thesis. During the Cold War, America became very collectivized in its approach to education. We did this for the same reason as the Soviets. We needed soldiers, scientists, educators and propagandists. We needed to punch the bad guy. The best way to achieve this result was to throw everyone into the same machine, designed to produce specific results, and pick from the best. Everyone else gets discarded, which I will come back to later. Things like morality and existential purpose have no place in state education. The state, communist or capitalist, will tell you who is moral.
You can blame this on things like Frankfort School academics and the “Long March Through the Institutions.” And anyone who knows me knows that I will never pass up an opportunity to bash communists, but this isn’t entirely on their shoulders. Progressivism that results from industrialization taking care of Maslow’s hierarchy of needs also largely contributes to human beings moving in this direction. Morality and reason were taken out of schools, but this was only speeding up a process that was already occurring. Where do you get your existential struggle from when your basic needs are satisfied through no action of your own?
Progress as a Substitute for Morality
Let’s examine progressivism. The Spanish/American War was one of the first progressive wars, and it was started based on lies. The USS Maine did explode off of the coast of Havana as a result of an accident that the Spanish had nothing to do with. But this was sold to the public as an attack on America by Spain. America then went to war with the Spanish Empire. It’s important to note that the media at least tried to be creative with their lies back then, today they don’t even bother.
But something interesting happens after that. Instead of simply “defending” ourselves from Spain in the Atlantic, we are now committed to dismantling their Empire all over the world in the name of “democracy.” Sound familiar? We even told the world that we were fighting to Christianize the Philippines. The Philippines were a Spanish colony for 300 years! Spain, a deeply Catholic nation, converted the Philippines to Christianity centuries ago. After America won, they left educators in the Philippines. Who were these people? Mostly the same people that worked in the Freedman’s Bureau. Southern Reconstruction and “converting” The Philippines were the same thing. It is the genesis of our industrial education-state.
This is progressivism in action. We need bad guys to slay, and if they don’t exist, we create them. The state tells you who is moral. It can do that through media, education, or both. It doesn’t require you to think or make decisions based on your own moral, existential struggles. Progressivism comes in many forms, but it doesn’t flourish when human beings have existential purpose. When you had to fight to get your food, clothing and shelter, your life had purpose. The results of your labor were real. Nobody had the time to worry about progressive causes. Industrialized society has largely taken care of all of our basic struggles. This is not to say that immorality never existed before industrialization, but the idea that progressivism, which people do use as the sole basis for their morality, did not exist before. It’s an entire rewrite of our DNA. Progressivism is attractive to those that need purpose, which is a rapidly growing percentage of the population.
The Results
Progressives changed the education system to be more in-line with what the state needed. Kings and emperors used people to get what they wanted for thousands of years as well. But in those times, an average man still found purpose in his life and realized the fruits of his labor, even if he was heavily taxed. He also had an existential reason for existing. I do not believe that man has this anymore, and part of the blame for this is being chewed up and spit out by the education system.
The state teaches you reading, writing and arithmetic. While these are useful, the state has sinister motives for doing so. State education is a carefully planned segregation system to figure out where you will go, and how you will benefit the state. But there is no existential purpose in having your life pre-planned. I want to focus on men mainly here, because a.) I am one, and b.) I think as hunters and gatherers, and the main engines of economic production, our modern approach harms men the most.
It is no secret that public education favors girls. Young boys have difficulty suppressing their energy to sit for long periods of time, hearing about things that don’t interest them. This is where I will criticize the three R’s. I do not feel that universal literacy is a net positive. If you can just read words but not understand them, then all you are useful for is digesting propaganda. The Crucible/McCarthy example I spoke of above. Not every boy will be good at math. Understanding basics is important, but that’s really it. As for writing, I lump that in with reading. Nowhere in the three R’s is morality or reason. It’s very industrial and mechanical. You’re only being taught obedience, which prepares you for a meaningless life. There is no reward.
My theory on this is that the three R’s filter you through the machine, chew you up, and spit you out. Many get simply discarded, working meaningless jobs with no reward, no struggle, no purpose. If you are really good at math, the state will figure out how to use you for their benefit. They don’t want you to be an entrepreneur unless it can benefit them. They want you to work on a bomb or an infrastructure project. If you’re not at the top of the class, but you’re athletic, you can join the military. If you’re average, which most people are, and you either can’t or choose not to join the military, you are discarded. Let’s look at the consequences of that.
Lots of men are simply going to work meaningless clerical jobs, as manufacturing in America is almost nonexistent. I think this is important because even with a simple manufacturing job, a man can see the results of his labor. He has purpose. He may have only been pushing a few buttons and pulling levers for a few hours, but he can see a physical product at the end of the day.
If you are working some white-collar insurance job, you probably have a diversity hire for a manager. CEO’s today have humanities degrees. And you never see the results of your work. You’re only measured by your obedience, which was ingrained in you in school. You’ll get raises that barely compete with inflation, and you’ll be constantly bombarded with meaningless social engineering. This causes the following problems:
Video games. I believe that the reason why so many young men who get chewed up and spit out by the education system flock to gaming is because it’s the only time in their life that they see the results of their work. I think this is very unhealthy, but it is a problem that exists. If they work very hard at it, they can beat up a bad guy, or get rewards and prizes. It’s not just that video games are fun for them, it’s that they get existential value from the experience. I would say that 90% of the jobs that the rejects of the education system encounter do not provide that value at all. Which brings me to:
Social justice. This is also a dangerous alternative to meaning and purpose and offers even less than video games. It requires no effort at all to say that you’re against racism, or you hate Nazis, or you think the handicapped should have rights. But this is how those who gravitate towards this find their dragon to slay. Their existential purpose. But the small pat on the back they receive, or the minimal dopamine hit they get is even less fulfilling because they did absolutely nothing to earn it.
I do believe that things like athletics are important to counter these traps. You can statistically see the results of your efforts in various athletic feats. But unless you are in the tippy top of the highest 1%, you’re not going to make a living doing this. It offers no existential purpose.
The Lack of the Existential Struggle
A struggle is how you learn right and wrong, reason and morality. Your morality is based on existential beliefs, whether you are religious or an atheist. Try to get an atheist to explain why something like racism is evil and everything that comes out of their mouth for the next five minutes will be metaphysical. And if you are religious, your religion probably has a hero archetype that faced a massive struggle. There’s a reason why the hero appears in all cultures. It is an essential component of humanity.
My theory is that industrialization created the progressives that took over the education system. It’s not a communist thing, or a democracy thing, or a capitalism thing. It’s a seismic shift in how human beings are supposed to function in society. It’s a slow degradation that cannot be pinpointed on one specific event. Prior to modernity, you saw the results of your work, even if you were a lowly serf. Today, you rarely do. Of course, you have to put in hours to get the sandwich that’s on your table, but the struggle is no longer there. And people have replaced the struggles that gave them meaning with empty, sometimes poisonous, pursuits.
As for solutions? I do think that religion helps. You have a moral code whether you’re religious or not but understanding where you’re going with this life thing and why you make the decisions you make is important. I don’t think it’s a solution though. The problems are deeply rooted in several aspects of what is still a fairly new social order.
In conclusion, I believe that industrialized state education has done irreparable damage to society. Filtering people through a machine is a horrible way to run a society. Purpose can’t just be viewed as what benefits the state. The education system does not need to be reformed, because it’s doing exactly what it’s supposed to be doing. You can’t just put “better people” in charge and expect different results. The entire thing needs to be burned to the ground and the Earth needs to be salted so that it can never come back.