On Thursday the 20th September, the UK government introduced new guidance banning the teaching of any material considered ‘anti-capitalist’ in schools. This provoked outrage and disbelief amongst many students and educators, and the effect that this kind of rule would have on the education of young people as well as the realistic possibility of it actually being introduced has sparked much debate.
The new measures set by the Department for Education (DfE) in relation to the relationship, sex and health curriculum is that schools should not use any resources produced by organisations that take ‘extreme political stances’. This includes “a desire to abolish or overthrow democracy, capitalism, or to end free and fair elections”, and the ban still applies “even if the material itself is not extreme, as the use of it could imply endorsement or support of the organisation.” Examples of those blacklisted from classrooms include organisations like Extinction Rebellion and causes such as Black Lives Matter. UK Education Secretary Gavin Williamson said the rules were introduced to ensure “political impartiality”, and also forbid any endorsement of illegal activity and failure to condemn illegal activities done in support of a cause. Therefore, the government is making a declarative statement that the ‘British values’ we are instilling in our children do not include learning about the ongoing fight against racial injustices and the protests calling for action against climate change, amongst many other relevant and important issues.
The restriction of a broad range of political stances would create a sole concentration on capitalism without counter arguments, and this has the potential to severely limit the diversity of the education children in the UK will receive, as well as curb their understanding of the world’s vast political landscape. The association between anti-democracy and anti-capitalist which the government has used to justify these rules is extremely dangerous, as it presents the false idea that any alternative to capitalism is radical and extremist. Ms Pearce, KS5 Coordinator of English at St Philomena’s Catholic High Schools for Girls, contends that “Grouping anti-capitalism alongside extremist or racist groups is an outrage. It’s part of a process that Mark Fisher calls ‘Capitalist Realism’, whereby people are taught to believe that capitalism is the only viable economic system, and essential to the workings of a liberal democracy. This is far from true, but it’s a lie that serves the Conservative Party well.”
The government’s complete failure to acknowledge the place of Democratic Socialism in this debate is extremely dangerous, as instead of allowing children to be aware of alternative viewpoints to capitalism, they have associated all socialist positions with extremist ideologies in an attempt to create fear around identifying with those concepts, and therefore a complete avoidance of any principles which are a perceived threat to capitalism. As Ms Pearce stated, “Banning the distribution of materials which derive from socialist organisations is itself an act of ideological manipulation”, and the government has failed to see how their attempt to protect democracy and ‘British values’, in effect, does the complete opposite. Therefore it is essential that the future generation is aware of, and educated on, the alternatives to capitalism; both history and current events only prove that capitalism is certainly not always the most effective system - on the contrary it is rather limited - as shown in the many financial crises which have occurred in capitalist countries, as well as the current economic state of the UK.
Aside from the material which these rules ban from classrooms, the guidelines also mean that teaching young people to constantly be critical and analytical of what they are learning may no longer have a place in the classroom, as the government has patronised young people by assuming they are unable to critically evaluate several viewpoints and make informed choices for themselves on their own political standpoints. It is possible that this attempt to politically indoctrinate our youth could even be revealing a governmental ploy to solely instill capitalist and conservative ideologies into future voters, as the Conservative party - known to struggle to gain support from younger voters - could potentially be introducing this rule in an effort to protect their power in parliament.
It’s impossible to tell how this guidance would ever be put into practice, as students who have studied anti-capitalism in several subjects over the course of their education - from learning about the Cold War in History to Priestley’s socialist views in an Inspector Calls in English - find it ridiculous that the government expects schools to scrap every shred of opposition to capitalism. Year 12 Student Jasmine Ismond believes that the guidelines mean “schools could potentially omit important political issues that need to be discussed to strive for a fairer society”, as from her point of view, “the term ‘extreme political stances’ is very subjective”. As a result, she feels that “the government guidelines about the resources and organisations which cannot be discussed in school have left a huge grey area.”
Ms Pearce also shared serious concerns about the redaction of socialist concepts from education, as she stressed that “From the Fabian society to the trade union movement, socialism is a central part of British intellectual life and political history. To suggest that such history cannot or should not be shared with students as it reflects an anti-capitalist agenda is tantamount to censorship. The government’s guidance also threatens to obscure the tremendous influence of socialism on British art, literature and political theory.” Moreover, the hypocrisy of the government's views and the impossibility of enforcing such rules are truly revealed through their appreciation for prized British institutions and concepts which are derived from socialist thinking, such as free access to education, as well as the recent rise in nationwide support and gratitude towards the NHS founded by socialist Clement Attlee, despite their willingness to remove the associated ideology from the curriculum.
Many have raised the question of where schools are expected to draw the line in what is perceived as anti-capitalist, as Ms Pearce enquired: “Are teachers to understand that we can no longer share with our students the novels of Iris Murdoch or the designs of William Morris, as they happened to be proud socialists? Socialism is part of the fabric of British culture, not a threat to it.” This echoes shadow chancellor John McDonnel’s evaluation of the huge impact these laws would have on what children will learn about their own history, as he stated that “it will be illegal to refer to large tracts of British history and politics including the history of British socialism, the Labour Party and trade unionism, all of which have at different times advocated the abolition of capitalism”. He also called the new guidance “another step in the culture war”, and said “this drift towards extreme Conservative authoritarianism is gaining pace and should worry anyone who believes that democracy requires freedom of speech and an educated populace.”
It is clear that many feel the government guidance, although put in place to create a ‘safer’ and more politically impartial environment in schools, risks hindering the younger generation’s awareness of the diversity of the politics and ideas of the world they live in, and warns that the government has no hesitation when it comes to censoring material and ideas which pose a possible threat to their power.
