There was outrage among some circles after Uribe’s denunciation of a FARC’s "intellectual block” disorienting Colombians with a dishonest peace discourse. These comments naturally caused indignation not only for the nature of the accusations and the implications for the lives of the members of such group, but also for its ambiguity. Much of the aftermath focused on calling the president to explicitly express who he was referring to. However, a question emerges, even if there is an intellectual block, is there a problem with a public debate among different currents of thought?
The root of this mis-education lies, obviously, in the school system.
Colombian secondary education hampers the capacity for critical thinking and limits the acquisition of intellectual tools for analyzing economic and political issues that are of paramount importance in any society. The school system is based on memorizing facts in order to recite back in examinations. Essays and class debates are a novelty. Basic economic principles and political systems are hardly ever taught.
Therefore, many Colombians are oblivious to the fact that politics is about who gets what, when and how, while economics is about devising the best system to distribute scarce resources. If more people were to acquire this basic knowledge major changes on how the government operates and the policies pursued could be expected to occur.
Teaching politics and economics is not an absurd idea for secondary school students in many countries in Europe. History classes for example, are no longer about memorizing dates, but about understanding the origin and consequences of historic events. Teenagers are also taught about the different forms of ruling and the differences between the 'left' and the 'right' together with the implications for different sectors of society.
The FARC have tainted the Marxist-Leninist ideology. However, this neither means that people utilizing this ideology are members of the FARC nor that this ideology's criticism to dogmatic capitalism has become irrelevant. In the contrary, their theses are more relevant now than ever since they vastly explain the structural problems that led to the current financial crisis. A case in point is the sales boost that Karl Marx 'Das Kapital' has received in Germany with the financial crisis.
Independently of different ideologies' validity there is a lot to gain if opposing currents of thought can be debated without being stigmatized. Perhaps then Colombians would acquire a deeper understanding of the ideological forces that are fuelling this conflict. In a pluralist society open dialogue ought to be encouraged instead of being openly condemned. We need a society where "war" of ideas supplants conventional wars.
Author Sebastian Castaneda is Colombian studies psychology and political economy at the University of Hong Kong
Elizabeth Berry
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... Another thought-provoking article by Sebastian Castaneda. It is interesting to remember that right-wing leaders always attack the intellectuals of their society: Bush did it, Reagan did it, Uribe does it, Hitler did it, etc. Whenever any extreme right-wing dictatorship takes over a country, one of their first activities is to round up the intellectuals and murder many of them. (Look no further than Pinochet for an example.) These right-wing leaders do this because anyone with the ability to think critically and the courage to speak up, is a threat to them. U.S. public schools also for the most part follow the process: memorize facts [from textbooks written to support the predominant viewpoints of the political party in charge] and regurgitate them. Very few, if any classes that teach pupils how to think critically. In the USA we call it "dumbing down America." Again, thanks for your provoking thoughts, once again, Sebastain. Liz |
gringo michae
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... While I agree with the writer teaching critical thinking skills is important, it is kind of hard when the current school system has a hard time just teaching the basics. As for the comment by Elizabeth Berry, not sure the last time she stepped foot in a US Public School, I finished school a long time ago and it surely was not based on memory of facts, students were pushed to think for themselves, and Political parties have nothing to do with what is taught, it is a local decision, a local school board elected with out party , she clearly lacks any understanding of the USA Education system. |
gringo michae
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... I do have one question . How does the writer feel that the "The FARC have tainted the Marxist-Leninist ideology." , it is a group based on Maxist, similar to that of Castro in Cuba. I am curuious how he sees they differ. |
NotAlvaroUribe
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... I will vouch for Elizabeth's comment on the U.S. Public School system, seeing how I also have been taught under this system. I find it insufficient and does lacks certain facts and critical thinking. Now I will say that it also depends on the area and the teachers you have. Currently I can flip through my nieces' history books and It puzzles me the lack of information in its content. The entire American educational system revolves around this will teach you to get a job and labor for the benefit of society. Although people need to develop skills that benefit them in their jobs, students need to learn more than just basic skills. They should learn to be intellectuals and critical thinkers. The fact that American teachers are paid such low wages disturbs me because it shows how low of a position we see them in our society. |
Gringo
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... The comment suggesting that"right wing" leaders have a monopoly on attacking intellectuals is dishonest and falls apart under even the slightest historical examination. Furthermore, to suggest that Regan, Bush and Uribe are/were dictators clearly leaves the argument incoherent and probably not worth any further discussion, so I'll stop at this point. BTW: for historical correction, Hitler was not a "right wing" leader, in fact he was the leader of National Socialism, imbued with all the rhetoric associated with that bankrupt ideology in order to secure dictatorial power. |
