Education is often celebrated as the great equalizer-the path to freedom, opportunity, and self-actualization. From the earliest days of public schooling, we have been told that learning is the key to unlocking human potential, the foundation of democratic society, and the engine of progress. Teachers are praised as heroes, schools are enshrined as pillars of the community, and diplomas are held aloft as symbols of merit and possibility. But beneath the surface of this optimistic story lies a more complicated-and often darker-truth. Education, in both its structure and function, can just as easily become a tool of control as a path to liberation.
This book exists because that tension matters. It matters not just to those working in schools or shaping policy, but to anyone concerned with what kind of society we are building. If education has the power to free minds, it also has the power to discipline them. If schools can teach empathy, they can also teach conformity. If classrooms can nurture democratic values, they can also prepare students for a life of obedience. In this book, we will investigate these competing purposes of education and uncover the subtle, often invisible forces of authoritarianism that shape what we teach, how we teach, and why.