On the needs of a civilised society

The economics of free markets is like a simplistic formulation of democracy. It is mob rule, the true tyranny of the masses.

“The markets have reacted badly,” they say. “The markets want two contradictory things; they want states to do the impossible,” says someone on the BBC Radio 4 news at six.  Markets are presented in textbooks of economics as impersonal, quasi-natural forces - competition, the survival of the fittest, supply and demand shaping our financial ecosystem – but in the media as rational, or even moral, decision-making mechanisms. But free markets, like natural ecosystems, are sometimes self-mutilating. They are not rational, certainly not moral, not consciously controlled by thinking individuals, but unthinkingly by the collective actions of masses of buyers and sellers, producers and consumers. The behaviour of markets, stock markets being no exception, is the behaviour of groups of people, akin to the behaviour of mobs of rioters, panicked crowds in tight spots, or herds of stupid great sweaty wild beasts confronted by a dangerous predator. Democracy! Liberalism! The Big Society! All fine, grand ideals; but without the addition of one crucial element, all of these fine words lead us to where we are today: Violence, chaos, riots, economic crises.

What is the crucial element of which I write, which gives those fine ideals meaning? It is the element which civilises us, informs us, allows us consciously, both as individuals and collectively, to make more rational decisions, and puts real choices regarding our own actions and lives in our own hands. Not the permission to vote, the freedom to be enterprising, or the right to express our opinions – for what informs the way we vote, what gives us the tools to be economically successful, what allows us to form opinions that are truly our own without this one crucial element? – it is education and education alone, the education of every individual who makes up our society, or, in a pinch, as many as possible, to the limits of his or her natural capacity for learning, and not to those limits which are imposed by vulgar economic situation, which has the power to mitigate the undesired consequences of democracy, economic liberalism and freedom of speech. This is what is lacking in our society and in many democratic, liberal societies. It is painful to research the history of public spending of education in my country, practically static at around 5% of GDP for over 25 years - my entire life - when I believe with an awesome passion that this should be the focus of every society’s resources, now and for all time.