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eNtRopY
As a strong supporter of human equality, for many years I had supported the idea that all social welfare is good. However, recently I have come to discover obscure virtue in capitalism concerning the issue of equal opportunity in higher education. After reading about the educational systems in other major countries, I can tell you that America provides more equality and opportunity for advancement among the classes than anywhere else. Anyone in America can go to college no matter who they are or where they came from. I have come to realize that this situation is almost completely unique to our country.
Many European countries boast about having a completely free university system. They claim that the high college tution costs in America create a situation where only the rich can afford to send their children to college while anyone in European countries can go to college. This could not be further from the truth. In Germany for instance, the government pays all college tuition costs. However, because the government is paying the bill, the government decides exactly who gets to go to college. They decide this based on the scholastic performance of children during grades 1 through 5. It is a fact that children of parents with higher education will perform better in elementary school than other children. Parents with higher education are often richer and will be able to afford such luxuries as private tutoring. Also, these parents will be more supportive of their children's academic efforts. So, what they have in Germany (and most other countries throughout the world) is clearly a situation of inequality. Not only does this situation damage the diversity of the culture, but it also damages the individual. Unlike American graduate students in the experimental sciences, German students do not build their own apparatus. Their universities actually hire technicians and laborers to complete such menial tasks that are beneath academic minds. This mentality damages the student because it gives him / her an unjust sense of superiority which only strengthens the idea that the rich should stay rich and the poor should stay poor.
In eastern countries like China, the government has decided to not bother spending any money at all educating those who are not college bound. There is no high school for those who wish to learn a trade. Essentially, these people no education and must rely on finding an apprecticeship. This creates a situation where a person gets stuck in a class -- once a laborer, always a laborer. In America, a factory worker could suddenly decide to attend a university. Within months, he or she could be attending night classes at a junior college in order to prepare for university level studying. Then this person could take out low-interest, educational loans from the government so that he or she can pursue his or her dreams.
Many critics of the American system, claim there has been a dumbing down of the higher educational system due to equal opportunity. This is bullsh:t. America has the best colleges in the world. More of the world's leading scientists attended American schools than the schools of any other country. The univeristies of America receive strong support from the general public because essentially they belong to the people. They are not perceived as sacred ivory towers whose doors are only open to a few elitests, as they are in other countries.
This is not to say that the American system is perfect. Clearly, we need to push harder to ensure that people of all backgrounds are guarenteed the American Dream. However, I think it wouldn't hurt to take a moment and recognize that the capitalistic system of America not only provides individual freedom, but it also approaches true equality -- a dream that communistic and socialistic societies have never realized.
eNtRopY
Many European countries boast about having a completely free university system. They claim that the high college tution costs in America create a situation where only the rich can afford to send their children to college while anyone in European countries can go to college. This could not be further from the truth. In Germany for instance, the government pays all college tuition costs. However, because the government is paying the bill, the government decides exactly who gets to go to college. They decide this based on the scholastic performance of children during grades 1 through 5. It is a fact that children of parents with higher education will perform better in elementary school than other children. Parents with higher education are often richer and will be able to afford such luxuries as private tutoring. Also, these parents will be more supportive of their children's academic efforts. So, what they have in Germany (and most other countries throughout the world) is clearly a situation of inequality. Not only does this situation damage the diversity of the culture, but it also damages the individual. Unlike American graduate students in the experimental sciences, German students do not build their own apparatus. Their universities actually hire technicians and laborers to complete such menial tasks that are beneath academic minds. This mentality damages the student because it gives him / her an unjust sense of superiority which only strengthens the idea that the rich should stay rich and the poor should stay poor.
In eastern countries like China, the government has decided to not bother spending any money at all educating those who are not college bound. There is no high school for those who wish to learn a trade. Essentially, these people no education and must rely on finding an apprecticeship. This creates a situation where a person gets stuck in a class -- once a laborer, always a laborer. In America, a factory worker could suddenly decide to attend a university. Within months, he or she could be attending night classes at a junior college in order to prepare for university level studying. Then this person could take out low-interest, educational loans from the government so that he or she can pursue his or her dreams.
Many critics of the American system, claim there has been a dumbing down of the higher educational system due to equal opportunity. This is bullsh:t. America has the best colleges in the world. More of the world's leading scientists attended American schools than the schools of any other country. The univeristies of America receive strong support from the general public because essentially they belong to the people. They are not perceived as sacred ivory towers whose doors are only open to a few elitests, as they are in other countries.
This is not to say that the American system is perfect. Clearly, we need to push harder to ensure that people of all backgrounds are guarenteed the American Dream. However, I think it wouldn't hurt to take a moment and recognize that the capitalistic system of America not only provides individual freedom, but it also approaches true equality -- a dream that communistic and socialistic societies have never realized.
eNtRopY