On the Ukraine

Watching the turmoil this morning in the Ukraine certainly reminded me of the Arab Spring. While Anne Applebaum (Apple Tree) describes the clash as between “institutions and rule of law” on the side of the European Union, and arbitrary rule on the side of the Russians, (Washington Post) it seems to me to reflect a wider issue: that of modernity versus tribalism. That is why it seems related to the Arab Spring revolts. Institutions and rule of law go with modern society while the normal human habits fit the more tribal behaviors as described by Frances Fukuyama in his book The Origins of Political Order. This ties in beautifully with the question of the value of education – specifically, a liberal arts education, because that is what makes the difference between the two societies. If a certain percentage of the population has been educated into the liberal western tradition and think of themselves as individuals with rights and obligations in a society that is legitimate and governed by a democratically elected legislature then all of the benefits of modernity ought to be available. What is happening in more third world countries, or second world countries that find themselves to move away from the dominance of Russia, is more people are becoming modern and so want their societies to become modern too. What is of concern is that while this movement is happening in a wide circle around the EU, in modern countries we find a decreasing interest in supporting the education that enables people to grow up to be modern. Decreasing the funding for arts educations decreases the number of people necessary to maintain a free egalitarian society. “Freedom is not free” is not true just with regard to expenditures on arms and defense, it also is true with regard to the cost of raising modern individuals. These are people who read literature and grow up to respect others outside of their immediate circle. As Steven Pinker explains in his book The Better Angels of Our Nature, we are living in the least violent per capita period in human history (check his statistics). What has brought about this could easily reverse itself if we do not continue to raise educated modern people. These are people that do not simply know how to perform some vital function in the technological infrastructure but that also appreciate the history, philosophy, morality, and splendors of the culture that arose out of the Christian west. If we give up on that we will rapidly become the kind of society all of the people in the rebellious periphery of modern society are trying to escape.