Isaac Newton, one of the all-time greatest minds in the field of physics, touched upon a fundamental truth when he humbly admitted that “if I have seen a little further, it is by standing on the shoulders of giants.” Because knowledge is a global public good, as philosophers almost universally agree, Newton was entitled to the combined wealth of human knowledge accumulated before him; accordingly, his addition to this wealth became the right of all men after him.
If knowledge is a global public good, logic leads me to conclude that education, the medium through which knowledge is transferred, is one of humanity’s most basic rights, alongside clean water, pure air, and health. Indeed, a quality education is a right that all men and women possess, simply by nature of their humanity. But it is unclear whether education is treated as such a right in the world, especially in the United States.
Evidently, one’s position in life, including the socioeconomic status of one’s family, is a result of what philosopher John Rawls calls the “arbitrariness of fortune.” Because of the random nature of such circumstances, no person deserves his or her starting place in society. The state should not unfairly act as though students merit their starting position in society, and yet the current education system clearly shows that if one is rich, one will have enormously better prospects than one in a lower income bracket.
In the U.S., every young person theoretically has access to education. It is obvious, however, that the quality of the education available for young Americans varies dramatically. Quality of education depends on whether a child is fortunate enough to have benefactors who can afford private schooling, or on whether his or her public school district has the funds to provide him or her with adequate teachers and resources. Through the block grant system, wherein the federal government provides funding for education that states are responsible for allocating, an unfortunate pattern arises: very often, those school districts that are already wealthy receive the most state funding, while the districts most in need of funds are all but abandoned, left to struggle on their own.
The American education system’s failed attempt (or perhaps lack of an earnest attempt altogether) to level the playing field of education leads to the cyclic perpetuation of inequality by a model that privatizes knowledge. This occurs despite the fact that, if knowledge is a global public good, it is technically a violation of human rights to privatize it. This model benefits a select few—if not the 1 percent then at least the top 10 percent. One of the complaints listed on Occupy DC’s website is that the right of Americans to education, among other basic rights such as that to healthcare, is being “sacrificed to profit-driven market forces.” The cycle consists of the wealthiest becoming the best educated, and then entering positions of power to keep the cycle in motion while maintaining their position as most wealthy. Surely, the belief that hard work also plays a large part in success is valid, but only to an extent; one cannot deny the principal role of circumstance and pure fortune in creating opportunity and success under the current system.
To address this grave inequality, a system that provides consistent education is needed. It is commonly accepted that, in the pursuit of a more fair and just society, there needs to be equity. Equity, or equality of opportunity, must be the moral standard. And because a quality education is the most important vehicle for opportunities, it is the first thing that must be available to all. Education is the silver bullet to solve problems of social justice in this country.
So what should be done to ensure that all Americans, regardless of their location or socioeconomic status, are given an equally excellent education? For a good education, you need money, with which to pay teachers well and to ensure that schools are equipped with the proper supplies to foster a good educational environment. And since the United States is the largest economy on the planet, the money is clearly there. Money spent on useless wars, for example, needs to be reallocated to things that matter, like education. Money needs to be poured into this sector until education is, as Sam Seaborn from The West Wing puts it, “incredibly expensive for government and absolutely free of charge to its citizens.”
By education, I don’t just mean primary and secondary schools—I also mean universities. All public institutions of knowledge need to be so well funded that they can compete with private institutions while charging their students little. Where you are, how much money you or your parents have, or to which class you belong should make no difference to the quality of the education you receive.
A system that does not have equity does not make for a just society. If what we look for in the United States is social justice, then making knowledge through education of a very high caliber available to all Americans is the first and most important step.
