I was planning on using my unannounced blogging hiatus as the discussion topic for my next post. The circumstances of my absence are rife with potential insight — while I won’t go into the specifics of my break, mainly because it would be of little interest to most readers out there — as usual, I try to avoid posting useless personal tidbits, and I only mention my personal life when it is relevant to a broader message or purpose. But I digress; I’ve got a piece on the nature of writing brewing, as inspired by my hiatus. However, before I was able to compose the piece in question, a new blog topic presented itself to me.
Yahoo has been my homepage for as long as I can remember — primarily because I use Yahoo e-mail services. Whenever I log onto the Internet, I cannot help but notice the “news” updates that occupy the center of my homepage. Yesterday morning, one title grabbed my attention as a grim commentary on our society. I have seen similar titles on many occasions, but for some reason none swayed my hand to write until now. The general tone of the news article is one that only such a rigorously capitalistic country could condone. The piece’s mantra is this: money is more important than education.
The article that sparked this blog entry is entitled “10 Jobs with High Pay and Minimal Schooling Required!” The exclamation point was in the original title, as if to suggest that that getting cash with minimal school is an exciting prospect. And why shouldn’t it be? In a capitalist society, entrepreneurs are always attempting to get the most return for their investment: it’s just good business. Yet, I wonder why education is seen primarily as an investment not only in this country, but by much of the world. Is the fundamental and personally fulfilling act of learning simply something that one invests in for monetary gain? Is education really just a “cost” that should be circumvented if the price does not yield profitable enough a reward?
Prior to the global influx of capitalist rhetoric, this title might give pause, but today it seems natural. Many may think “of course I want to make a lot of money quickly” not even looking at the other side of this title, indicating that it is best to forgo higher learning in search of a quick buck.
Why is it that contemporary society equates education with financial success, suggesting that financial gain is the ultimate purpose of education rather than its capacity for fostering personal and interpersonal discovery?
Many students in college are there to increase their earning power, only expanding their mind because it will land them a better job. If a shortcut is found, why not take it? Why bother becoming an enlightened, knowledgeable human being with insight and a great capacity for critical thinking? If not to become rich, what is the purpose of learning anything? Under this doctrine, wealth is the supreme goal of our species, and unless something is able to generate wealth, it is worthless.
Understanding that many people cannot afford higher education, this article may benefit a large segment of society, but its overall tone was not one geared toward the lower class. Admittedly, the article does discuss the cost of college, which is a very unfortunate barrier (one that capitalist ideals have created), but the poor do not seem to be the main audience.
The article talked about getting good pay without spending years in school, accumulating debt that will dampen the almighty earning power of your future “career” (mentioning the time constraints above all else, barely mentioning any economic constraints), as if schooling that does not yield financial gain is a waste of time. Furthermore, it explains that influxes of college grads have “damped the value” of a degree — seeing the education gained as simple an income source, never once considering that no one can truly devalue a person’s knowledge. Knowledge is, in fact, one of the few things that nobody can take away from us or “devalue” with systems of currency and control.
There is something wrong with this doctrine, when human knowledge is considered less important than fickle, filthy, utterly worthless money.
This article is truly a reflection on our society’s values — values which capitalism espouses and which many likely share. Yet this twisted value system gives me pause (even as it seems natural, as aforementioned, to those indoctrinated into this way of life).
And I trust (nay, I know) there are others who also take pause — those who are not blinded by the American pursuit of cash.
November 4, 2009...11:12 am
“Education’s Unfortunate, Meagerly Ascribed ‘Value’ in a Capitalist Society,” by James Gapinski
I was planning on using my unannounced blogging hiatus as the discussion topic for my next post. The circumstances of my absence are rife with potential insight — while I won’t go into the specifics of my break, mainly because it would be of little interest to most readers out there — as usual, I try to avoid posting useless personal tidbits, and I only mention my personal life when it is relevant to a broader message or purpose. But I digress; I’ve got a piece on the nature of writing brewing, as inspired by my hiatus. However, before I was able to compose the piece in question, a new blog topic presented itself to me.
Yahoo has been my homepage for as long as I can remember — primarily because I use Yahoo e-mail services. Whenever I log onto the Internet, I cannot help but notice the “news” updates that occupy the center of my homepage. Yesterday morning, one title grabbed my attention as a grim commentary on our society. I have seen similar titles on many occasions, but for some reason none swayed my hand to write until now. The general tone of the news article is one that only such a rigorously capitalistic country could condone. The piece’s mantra is this: money is more important than education.
The article that sparked this blog entry is entitled “10 Jobs with High Pay and Minimal Schooling Required!” The exclamation point was in the original title, as if to suggest that that getting cash with minimal school is an exciting prospect. And why shouldn’t it be? In a capitalist society, entrepreneurs are always attempting to get the most return for their investment: it’s just good business. Yet, I wonder why education is seen primarily as an investment not only in this country, but by much of the world. Is the fundamental and personally fulfilling act of learning simply something that one invests in for monetary gain? Is education really just a “cost” that should be circumvented if the price does not yield profitable enough a reward?
Prior to the global influx of capitalist rhetoric, this title might give pause, but today it seems natural. Many may think “of course I want to make a lot of money quickly” not even looking at the other side of this title, indicating that it is best to forgo higher learning in search of a quick buck.
Why is it that contemporary society equates education with financial success, suggesting that financial gain is the ultimate purpose of education rather than its capacity for fostering personal and interpersonal discovery?
Many students in college are there to increase their earning power, only expanding their mind because it will land them a better job. If a shortcut is found, why not take it? Why bother becoming an enlightened, knowledgeable human being with insight and a great capacity for critical thinking? If not to become rich, what is the purpose of learning anything? Under this doctrine, wealth is the supreme goal of our species, and unless something is able to generate wealth, it is worthless.
Understanding that many people cannot afford higher education, this article may benefit a large segment of society, but its overall tone was not one geared toward the lower class. Admittedly, the article does discuss the cost of college, which is a very unfortunate barrier (one that capitalist ideals have created), but the poor do not seem to be the main audience.
The article talked about getting good pay without spending years in school, accumulating debt that will dampen the almighty earning power of your future “career” (mentioning the time constraints above all else, barely mentioning any economic constraints), as if schooling that does not yield financial gain is a waste of time. Furthermore, it explains that influxes of college grads have “damped the value” of a degree — seeing the education gained as simple an income source, never once considering that no one can truly devalue a person’s knowledge. Knowledge is, in fact, one of the few things that nobody can take away from us or “devalue” with systems of currency and control.
There is something wrong with this doctrine, when human knowledge is considered less important than fickle, filthy, utterly worthless money.
This article is truly a reflection on our society’s values — values which capitalism espouses and which many likely share. Yet this twisted value system gives me pause (even as it seems natural, as aforementioned, to those indoctrinated into this way of life).
And I trust (nay, I know) there are others who also take pause — those who are not blinded by the American pursuit of cash.
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Filed under Social Commentary
Tags: Capitalism, College, Critique, Education, Indoctrination, Learning, Money, Society, Time, Values