A response to saying corporal punishment, or any harsh form of parenting, causes anxiety and trauma and therefore ought to be abolished: School causes trauma and anxiety for some people, should kids not have to go to school? What a weird, awful line of argumentation, though; it presupposes that the purpose of school, to provide a space for the education and growth of youth, must be inexorably imbued with anxiety and trauma. This is a sorting measure, and an evil one at that- the division of people into two categories, the fit and unfit (fit being those who thrive on competition and rise above anxiety to achieve as opposed to the unfit who succumb to the system and its anxieties) is a vestige of Social Darwinist thought which only serves to perpetuate capitalism by exalting those who it benefits most, namely those with a lack of empathy wrapped up in the profit motive. Everywhere, society should attempt to reduce anxieties (which afflict the vast majority of people) and eliminate trauma (deep-seated anxieties instilled by vicious competitive drive from the onset of life in capitalist society). Imagine the educational environment without any ill feeling, a pure and contemplative environment free of social hierarchy and anxious alienation. An eternally anxious, damaged life is the dominant mode of living within capitalism. This should say more about human nature than capitalism claims to: human beings are overall not accustomed to existing in an environment where self-interest is king. Failing the system, therefore, only contributes to further proof that the system does not work. It is illegitimate and corrupt, and opting out is a righteous act.
Posted on: Thu, 24 Apr 2014 23:29:01 +0000