Democracy and Education

I think the haze currently hanging over South East Asia proves that there can be no true functioning Democracy without education. Yes, I realise that to some this is an offensive and shocking statement, but let me try to explain.

The farmers in Indonesia that are currently burning their fields do this because they believe this is the best way to live their life to the fullest. This is how things have been done for generations and if it worked for their parents, why shouldn’t it work for them?

Their perception of the world around them is limited by their lack of opportunity to go abroad, as well as their lack of education as to what lies past their horizon. Their lack of education has made it impossible for them to truly conceive of the damage they are causing elsewhere (let alone to their direct environment).

As a result they continue to behave in a way that is damaging for their neighbours and ultimately damaging for them selves. Their customs were created in a time of thousands, not of millions, and these customs are therefore not calibrated to correctly measure the impact of their actions on their environment. Education, based on the scientific method, is meant to adapt to the changing environment. Customs, on the other hand, are much slower to adapt, or even non-adaptive.

In a non-democratic country the government could then intervene and possibly improve the situation, but in a democratic country the (uneducated) values of the people are (supposed to be) represented in the government, meaning they also do not fully understand why they should intervene.

The first step to a functioning Democracy is, therefore, an aware and educated population, who can understand the significance of their own actions, at home and abroad. Democracy is ultimately ineffective among the uneducated.