Norms and Nobility ch 7 - The Ennobling of the Masses

Classical education has traditionally been only for the privileged. But even the masses need more than a wage-earning job. "There must be some nobler purpose and a higher sense of value infusing society's material efficiency and informing common people, whose lives are consumed in the daily contest for material well-being." Some say that an educated elite preserves the culture (art, politics, religion, etc) and thus the elite require a classical education. But in our technical society, this could cause a rift between the elite and the masses. After all, who decides which people get to be elite, and on what basis? And the working class may view the elite and culture as unnecessary to their lives and to the world.

In a democracy, every person has the same right to education and access to culture. Democracy runs the risk of too much freedom, causing anarchy, or too much privilege, causing laziness. Democracy can only flourish if everyone is educated and uses their leisure time worthily to reach his full potential. Culture is the right and property of everyone, not just an elite few. Man is neither the custodian of culture, nor a utilitarian worker bee. He is an individual who needs to know how to make right decisions and manage himself, and such a population is a benefit to any society.

What is the purpose of giving everyone in a society a classical education?
1) It addresses the needs "of the whole man" (a very CM objective!), bringing balance to his individual, political and religious sides so that he will be happy to cooperate because he recognizes that his cooperation helps everyone (a cyclical relationship?)
2) It teaches people to weigh and consider all sides of an issue by making use of accessible information, and make logical judgments. When information is freely accessible and people are conscientious and confident about making careful decisions for themselves, democracy works.
3) It helps people to value the greater reason for democracy rather than simply insisting on their own personal freedom for self-interest. Currently, in the name of freedom and democracy, individual rights and special interest groups can tyrranize everyone else. That's not what democracy is supposed to be for.
4) It teaches students to value the rights they owe to others, not just their own rights (another idea CM talked about.) Only a person with self-control who knows truth and acts responsibly should have the freedom to act on what he knows is right. Freedom shouldn't be a license to do "whatever." People need to be trained for this kind of responsibility; the alternative is this: "The state and the marketplace, looking upon education as a means of ensuring a pliant and productivity citizenry, will insist that the school offer a utilitarian education in keeping with their greedy desires." Democracy without responsible people regresses to people concerned only with comfort and self-satisfaction, even at the expense of others.