Why Freedom Became Free-Dumb in America

Posted by: XXX_er

i get the impression the public schools suck down there ?

The DeVos syndrome.

Posted by: tungsten

Posted by: syncro

Posted by: tungsten

https://www150.statcan.gc.ca/n1/daily-quotidien/171129/dq171129a-eng.htm

I see 32%.

More than 1/2 of all people aged 25 - 64, from the same source as yours. That info was listed well before the graph you chose, which only looked at Aboriginal people and not the whole population.  It was also mentioned in the same article that Canada leads the OECD in the proportion of college and uni graduates.

So what. Not every degree requires literary/philosophical knowledge.

They don’t, but many programs include intro philosophy courses and they are a popular elective. So with half the population having post secondary it’s a pretty good chance that a fair bit more than 10% of the population know who Camus and Sartre are, as well as some of the other heavyweights. 

As an aside, IMO philosophy should be taught in high school.

Posted by: chupacabra

I think America can trace it's idiocracy back to the civil war.  When the South was defeated they were allowed to keep their regressive policies and fight reconstruction efforts in the name of state rights and a lot of the current fuckery within their system has been slowly put into place for the same reasons by those same southern states.  From James M Buchanan to the Koch brothers, there has been an ongoing project to return America back to a country for the rights of the wealthy land owner that includes grooming justices, think tank policy writers, lawyers and politicians and this world view has always been supported in the south as they are happy to live in a world of Boss Hogs.  Amy Coney Barretts don't form naturally.

Post modernity, it is the "Powell memo" effect.

Posted by: syncro

Posted by: tungsten

Posted by: syncro

Posted by: tungsten

https://www150.statcan.gc.ca/n1/daily-quotidien/171129/dq171129a-eng.htm

I see 32%.

More than 1/2 of all people aged 25 - 64, from the same source as yours. That info was listed well before the graph you chose, which only looked at Aboriginal people and not the whole population.  It was also mentioned in the same article that Canada leads the OECD in the proportion of college and uni graduates.

So what. Not every degree requires literary/philosophical knowledge.

They don’t, but many programs include intro philosophy courses and they are a popular elective. So with half the population having post secondary it’s a pretty good chance that a fair bit more than 10% of the population know who Camus and Sartre are, as well as some of the other heavyweights. 

As an aside, IMO philosophy should be taught in high school.

I've an ex highly placed in the administrative staff at a U of Minn business school that thinks a morality (ethics) course should be required.

Today I learned having a degree = intelligence.

Posted by: Madman

Today I learned having a degree = intelligence.

I don't see anyone necessarily saying that.

Yes there is plenty of intelligence working at Starbucks.

And driving taxis!

Posted by: JBV

Posted by: syncro

Posted by: tungsten

Posted by: syncro

Posted by: tungsten

https://www150.statcan.gc.ca/n1/daily-quotidien/171129/dq171129a-eng.htm

I see 32%.

More than 1/2 of all people aged 25 - 64, from the same source as yours. That info was listed well before the graph you chose, which only looked at Aboriginal people and not the whole population.  It was also mentioned in the same article that Canada leads the OECD in the proportion of college and uni graduates.

So what. Not every degree requires literary/philosophical knowledge.

They don’t, but many programs include intro philosophy courses and they are a popular elective. So with half the population having post secondary it’s a pretty good chance that a fair bit more than 10% of the population know who Camus and Sartre are, as well as some of the other heavyweights. 

As an aside, IMO philosophy should be taught in high school.

agreed. along with basic economics and personal finance.

Wayyyyyyyy back when I was in high school we had a commerce and business Ed classes. They were grade eleven and twelve electives and not mandatory but at least they were offered. I took commerce and I learned a lot, taxes, investments, and mortgages. All useful stuff. Asked my twenty somethings and they didn’t have a clue what I was talking about.

Something called Consumer Education used to be mandatory for HS graduation in BC fwirc and it taught some similar stuff.

Posted by: syncro

Something called Consumer Education used to be mandatory for HS graduation in BC fwirc and it taught some similar stuff.

Con Ed.  I took it by correspondence and paid a friend $50 (in 1990 dollars) to do all the assignments.  I can't say I got a lot out of the course.

Talked to some American friends.  Can't discuss politics.  Their mentality is just different when it comes to the rights of an individual.

Posted by: switch

Talked to some American friends.  Can't discuss politics.  Their mentality is just different when it comes to the rights of an individual.

I was a conference once having dinner with a group of Yanks trying to explain to them why I was OK with paying higher taxes to support universal healthcare .  They just didn't seem to understand why I was so concerned about covering everyone.  I also could not convince them that Canada had decent healthcare.

Posted by: chupacabra

Posted by: switch

Talked to some American friends.  Can't discuss politics.  Their mentality is just different when it comes to the rights of an individual.

I was a conference once having dinner with a group of Yanks trying to explain to them why I was OK with paying higher taxes to support universal healthcare .  They just didn't seem to understand why I was so concerned about covering everyone.  I also could not convince them that Canada had decent healthcare.

When a society is focused on the betterment of the individual as opposed to the betterment of the all it is doomed to fail.