Will education survive without federal control and funding? By Mia Rodríguez

A question that lingers like an unsettling shadow over the so-called democratic bastions of the world is whether any democracy can truly survive, let alone evolve, without a strong, federally controlled and funded education system. And yet, in the land that never ceases to declare itself the 'leader of the free world,' the United States, this question isn’t merely philosophical; it’s existential.

The American education system is, by all measures, under siege. It is not a battlefield of ideologies alone but a deliberate dismantling, brick by brick, of what should be a cornerstone of any functioning democracy. If the goal is to maintain a society capable of critical thinking, civic engagement, and progress, then education must not only be a right but a priority. Yet, the United States, despite its grand proclamations of freedom and opportunity, seems to be inching toward an era where ignorance is not just tolerated but actively nurtured, where education is treated as a commodity rather than a societal foundation.

No democracy, in its purest form, can exist without an educated populace. The mere concept of self-governance presupposes that the citizens making decisions, electing leaders, and shaping policies have at least a fundamental understanding of history, political processes, economics, and let’s be audacious here, even basic science. The alternative is mob rule, demagoguery, and policy dictated by the loudest voice rather than the most informed mind. A society that lacks education becomes susceptible to manipulation, its citizens unable to discern facts from fiction, left vulnerable to the whims of those who seek power over them rather than for them.

Look at history. Every authoritarian regime has understood this principle well. The less the people know, the easier they are to control. Stalin purged intellectuals. The Khmer Rouge slaughtered teachers. The Nazis burned books. The lesson? Control knowledge, and you control the people. The United States is not burning books just yet, though some states seem quite enthusiastic about banning them but the effect of a chronically underfunded and neglected public education system is just as corrosive. When education becomes a privilege instead of a right, democracy teeters on the edge of irrelevance.

The counterargument, often made by libertarian and conservative voices, is that private education and “school choice” will solve these problems. But let’s be clear: when you privatize education, you create an exclusionary system where only those who can afford it receive quality learning. The rest? Left behind, forced into crumbling institutions with underpaid teachers, outdated textbooks, and a curriculum designed more to maintain order than to inspire minds.

Moreover, when education funding is cut, it is not the affluent suburban schools that suffer but those in lower-income, often minority-populated areas. This isn’t just an unfortunate side effect, it’s by design. The underfunding of public education creates a self-perpetuating cycle of disenfranchisement: fewer resources lead to poorer outcomes, which lead to limited opportunities, which reinforce systemic inequality. The American dream, in this scenario, is not just unattainable; it is a cruel joke.

There’s another argument often thrown into the mix: states should control education, not the federal government. But let’s examine what this really means. State-controlled education means fragmented standards, a patchwork of priorities dictated by local politics rather than national progress. It means that a child’s quality of education depends entirely on their zip code rather than any democratic principle of equality. It allows for ideological indoctrination at worst and blatant neglect at best. The federal government has the resources and the mandate to ensure a baseline standard of education that doesn’t fluctuate based on the whims of local lawmakers playing culture war games.

So, let’s go back to the original question: Can any democracy survive and evolve without a robust, federally controlled and funded education system? The answer is a resounding no. A democracy where knowledge is a privilege rather than a right ceases to be a democracy. It becomes an oligarchy, where only the educated elite wield power while the rest are placated with distractions, misinformation, and empty political slogans.

If the United States or any democratic nation, truly values its freedom, it must start by protecting and strengthening its public education system. Anything less is a slow, deliberate suicide of its democratic ideals. And in this war, ignorance is not just a casualty; it is the weapon being used against the very people democracy is supposed to serve.