Education Under Capitalism: Why It Doesn’t Work

Capitalism: the system of the world at large. We’ve all been told to trust the current organization of the economy, lest it falls, and the Commies overseas win! But—and hear me out—maybe we shouldn’t. Instead of hitting you with the traditional Marxist critique of capitalism at a large scale, I will focus on what affects our age group: the school system.

First, there is the concept of grades: rankings which reinforce the strong American belief of living in a meritocracy. Better students receive better grades, right? Wrong. Grading, just like any standardized summary of someone’s “intelligence”, is a generally flawed metric and depends entirely on the environment. Grade performance is largely dependent on quality of education, which, in turn, is affected by educational inequities. Taxpayer-funded schools in poorer neighborhoods provide less resources and opportunities than schools in more affluent areas, compounding a troubling educational gap. According to The Commonwealth Institute, students enrolled in high poverty schools are more likely to perform worse on standardized exams. This makes sense: lesser opportunities will always lead to lesser overall outcomes. Lower grades become  a barrier, barring these students from accessing  good higher education—if any higher education at all.

But let’s say you live in a rich neighborhood with great schooling—what are you learning? For those who live in states filled with lobbyists probably revised history. According to a poll conducted by PewResearch in 2011, alarmingly only 38% of Americans believe the Civil War was caused by slavery: an obvious failing of schools. These 62% of people do not discard what they learned; they are unaware of the trauma of American slavery and the lasting socioeconomic disparities which still taint our institutions today. The culprits are neoliberal groups like The Daughters of the Confederacy who promote revisionist versions of the Civil War and other racial events. Our current fight against misinformation in our ultra-polarized political climate stems from our classrooms; it is there that we learn how to discern between fact and fiction. To operate as a nation, we must believe in a shared set of common truths and values. These groups, platformed by the ability to shove money into American politics without breaking the law, threaten our notions of a shared reality. 

Now the time has come: you finally graduate high school and are looking to enroll in college. Unfortunately for you, decades of student debt may be required for even the cheapest institutions. This is an effect of the increase of privatization in the higher education system; treating an essential need as business leads to prioritization of profits over all else. And, of course, systemic racism—the omnipresent disparity pervading American society—plays a role too. Families without intergenerational wealth face additional challenges when striving to attain higher education. Luckily, affirmative action seeks to address this issue by making it easier for disadvantaged and underrepresented groups to get into colleges and universities. But unfortunately, this is a band-aid solution on a laceration of a problem.

Lastly, we wouldn’t be talking about America without the involvement of guns. Our capitalist organization of the economy enables the National Rifle Association (NRA) to actively prioritize profits over children’s lives. Their strategy is to bribe politicians into supporting gun deregulation, then blaming every single school shooting on mental health issues. Even though most of us have accepted this dystopian reality, we shouldn’t. Not to make the stereotypical comparison, but this is literally Fahrenheit 451 behavior. 

Well, what can we do? Sadly, not much. The seniors among us can vote to elect more establishment politicians to continue these horrors. A useful thing one can do is become educated on these issues and organize. As individuals, we are weak, but as a coalition, we are strong! A good start could be launching a school chapter of the Young Democratic Socialists of America (YDSA). This movement seeks to address many issues, including education. Maybe a solution is protesting—and I’m not talking sitting in the middle of the hall—I mean taking to the streets! The bored local news will surely flock to see the gathering, giving us a platform. Spreading awareness will inevitably lead to nationwide uproar—maybe enough for the government to grow wings and stop the many falling from the American Dream.

ALL OPINIONS expressed in the opinion section represent the individual viewpoints of their authors. The content does not necessarily represent the views of The Warrior, the high school, the school district, or the Board of Education.