The danger of demonizing education

In the aftermath of this election, we're hearing a lot of pundits and politicians suggest that the reason Harris lost is because Democrats abandoned the "working class." It is important that we call that argument out because it's not only wrong, it's dangerous.

These days the standard definition of "working class" is those who don't have a college degree, and the argument that Democrats have abandoned them is almost always paired with the idea that the party has increasingly aligned itself with "elites" who have college degrees. Back in the 1950s, that might have made sense, when about 5% of the population graduated from college. But here's what has happened since then.

Almost 40% of the population now has a college degree, with the number of women recently surpassing the number of men. We see a similar trajectory with African Americans, who started at almost zero in 1950 and now are at about 20% with a college degree. 

For decades, part of the so-called "American Dream" involved parents who sacrificed in order to send their kids to college in hopes they could have a better life. That dream came true for many of us, but now the whole framework has been dumped on it's head. A woman who got a college education in order to become a public school teacher is now an "elitist," while a guy worth $330 billion is some kind of populist leader.

The movement away from an assumption that everyone needs a college education is a positive development. We should all be free to follow the path that is best for us. But in many ways, the script has been flipped to demonize the educated - especially those who are experts in their field (ie, Anthony Fauci). 

For both MAGA and some on the left, the message is that we should abandon expertise and rely on so-called "common sense." That might work when it comes to a seating arrangement for Thanksgiving dinner, but it's an absolute catastrophe when it comes to things like public health, economic policy, or diplomacy. Demonizing experts also makes it difficult to differentiate between the truth and a lie - opening the door to fascism.

All of this is why Trump/Vance have promised to undermine education. For example, Vance gave a speech at the National Conservatism Conference in 2021 that was literally titled, "The Universities are the Enemy." More recently, he suggested that the U.S. should follow the lead of Hungary's Viktor Orban, who seized control of that country's universities and turned them over to his allies. Meanwhile, Trump promised a "massive higher education overhaul," suggesting that he would tax, fine, and sue private universities in order to confiscate their endowments and create "The American Academy," Orban-style.

But that's not all. They've also promised to eliminate the federal Department of Education. That would accomplish four main goals:

1. Eliminate funds for schools with high rates of students living in poverty,
2. Eliminate funds for students with special education needs, 
3. Eliminate federal enforcement of laws prohibiting discrimination on the basis of sex, race, religion and disability status, and
4. Eliminate federal student loan programs.

Thomas Jefferson is often quoted as saying, "An educated citizenry is a vital requisite for our survival as a free people." Given the complexities facing a representative democracy in the 21st Century, that has never been more true, or more threatened, than it is today.