“Then I want to tell you something. I grew up in a working class family. My father worked in road construction and my mother did cleaning. So everything is completely normal. When my well-off schoolmates went home after half-day school, a warm meal awaited them, they were looked after, and help was available with their schoolwork. When in doubt, there was tutoring because they could afford it. But what about the workers’ children? They used to be called latchkey children. They went home and no one was there. It wasn’t until the evening that the parents returned exhausted from work. Even if they had wanted to, they would not have been able to help the children with the tasks, neither the resources nor their own training made it possible to act as free additional teachers. In our schools, on the one hand, the responsibility for ensuring that the learning content is received is delegated to the parents, who are on their own. And on the other hand, natural educational protrusions are cemented, and the ceiling is pulled upwards.
Yes, in principle everyone is able to pursue any educational path they want, but it is made very difficult for people who do not have the advantage of a middle-class background. But not only are the requirements different, but it often also fails because of the parents’ financial possibilities. School attendance itself is free, but what is required around it often pushes economically weaker people to the limits of their ability to cope. A first step would be all-day schools, which could improve at least some of the differences. Education is for those who can afford it and is therefore far from a truly democratic institution. In contrast, communism advocates actual education for everyone, including those who are already employed, through work schools, evening schools or other institutions that can be accessed barrier-free. Education is a good that must be accessible to everyone. Capitalism breeds at least a three-class educational society through profit orientation and the need for self-financing. Because people are assigned different values from the outset.”
“As if they would take advantage of it. You have to force people to perform through order and discipline, because they are naturally lazy and avoid any effort as much as possible. Coercion and pressure are the only option.”
“You forgot about indoctrination. That’s why our schools are still organized like the Prussian military academies, with their 50-minute rhythm. What do the children learn there? Discipline, submission, and obedience to authority. That’s the school’s job, nothing else, or at least little.”
“Nevertheless, human nature demands this,” and with that she looks pointedly at the waiter, who is leaning against the bar and staring dully in front of him, and only after three calls does he decide to come to the table to take another order, “See what I mean. That is human nature.
Scene IV.
“What is human nature like?” asked the first lady.
“Humans are naturally lazy. If you want him to do something, no matter what, you have to put pressure on him. He has no initiative whatsoever. It requires direction and leadership, especially of the mob, guidance from people who are higher in rank, almost by nature through their knowledge and money. The success shows that it is so right. What would ordinary people do if they weren’t forced to work? They would just lie around all day and do nothing.”
“You mean the ladies and gentlemen on the private yachts who are being served…”
“You are making fun of it, no, I mean these ragged, neglected characters who have no purpose in life and cannot find one. And to ensure that you don’t have to gather them together every morning to get something done, you had to take certain disciplinary measures. The battle of the boardroom is a constant one against this human nature that drives them to drift. Leadership, order, and authority must convey to them what they have to do. Those who are at the top are not there for nothing, but because they got there through commitment, hard work, honest striving, and personal sacrifice. It is undisputed that – admittedly – subsequent generations now and then parasitize on it. However, the majority remain in their role and thus contribute to the success of society as a whole. The better off it is for those who are in charge and have an overview, the more is lost for the others. Actually, you can see them as saviors from emergencies, as knights in shining armor who completely selflessly alleviate the misery of the inexperienced. And one of the prerequisites is the schools, which relieve the leaders of a small part of this burden.”
“With this view of humanity, it can’t be any different. But that means that humanity must have long since perished during the long period in which there was neither patriarchy nor domination.”
“That’s not what it means. It was just then that the leaders acted unofficially. At some point they were no longer willing to do this for God’s reward, but instead took the share that was due to them. Yes, during the Middle Ages, people still knew that every person was born in the place where they belong and that nothing can be changed. No matter what happens or what the circumstances are. In contrast, in capitalism there is this upward permeability. Anyone can achieve anything with enough effort,” said the lady in Dressed Up with conviction.
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