What do you think?
Rate this book
শিক্ষা ও সমাজকাঠামো
বার্ট্রান্ড রাসেল তাঁর Education and the Social Order পুস্তকটি প্রকাশ করেন ১৯৩২ সালে। এখানে তিনি দেখিয়েছেন যে, কোন ধরনের সামাজিক চাপ উক্ত আদর্শ বাস্তবায়নে প্রতিবন্ধকতার সৃষ্টি করে। অর্থ, দেশপ্রেম ও স্নবারি শিক্ষাদর্শের প্রভূত ক্ষতি করে থাকে। এছাড়া যৌনতা ও ধর্ম বিষয়ে ভুল শিক্ষা প্রদানের জনাও বিস্তুর অনিষ্টের কারণ ঘটে। উপরন্তু রাসেল শিক্ষার বিভিন্ন আদর্শ ও পাশ্চাত্যের নানা ধরনের বিদ্যালয়ের বৈশিষ্ট্য বিশ্লেষণ করেছেন। কম্যুনিস্ট দেশের বিদ্যালয়গুলির বৈশিষ্ট্যও তিনি তুলে ধরেছেন।
124 pages, Hardcover
First published January 1, 1932
20 people are currently reading
562 people want to read
About the author
Bertrand Russell
1,242 books7,315 followersBertrand Arthur William Russell, 3rd Earl Russell, OM, FRS, was a Welsh philosopher, historian, logician, mathematician, advocate for social reform, pacifist, and prominent rationalist. Although he was usually regarded as English, as he spent the majority of his life in England, he was born in Wales, where he also died.
He was awarded the Nobel Prize in Literature in 1950 "in recognition of his varied and significant writings in which he champions humanitarian ideals and freedom of thought."
He was awarded the Nobel Prize in Literature in 1950 "in recognition of his varied and significant writings in which he champions humanitarian ideals and freedom of thought."
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 19 of 19 reviews
May 16, 2020
যেকোনো ধরনের গোঁড়ামি বুদ্ধিবৃত্তিকে নষ্ট করে দেয়। আমরা প্রতিক্রিয়াশীলদের সমালোচনা করি। অথচ প্রগতিবাদীদের চরমপন্থাও প্রতিক্রিয়াশীলদের চাইতে কম ভয়ংকর নয় বলে মনে করেন বার্ট্রান্ড রাসেল। এটি মূলত তাঁর প্রবন্ধের বই। যেখানে তিনি শিক্ষা এবং সামাজিক জীবন নিয়ে খোলামেলা কথা বলেছেন, প্রথাগত মতের বাইরে অবস্থান নিয়েছেন।
শিক্ষা নিয়ে বার্ট্রান্ড রাসেলের সাথে প্রমথ চৌধুরীর মতাদর্শের আশ্চর্য মিল লক্ষ করা যায়। দু'জনই এমন শিক্ষাব্যবস্থার পক্ষে যেখানে শিক্ষার্থীদের মানসকে দাস বানানো হবে না। বরং প্রশ্ন করার, ভিন্নমত পোষণ করার ক্ষমতাকে বিকশিত করবে। সেক্স এডুকেশনকে ভীষণ গুরুত্বপূর্ণ মনে করেন বার্ট্রান্ড রাসেল। এই শিক্ষার অভাবে মূল্যবোধের অবক্ষয়ের কেমন করে বিস্তার লাভ করে তা লিখেছেন প্রাবন্ধিক রাসেল।
যুক্তিবোধের সঙ্গে মনুষ্যত্ববোধের মিশ্রণে এক আদর্শ মানুষ বার্ট্রান্ড রাসেল। শিক্ষা এবং সমাজ নিয়ে তিনি খুব আদর্শবাদী মানুষ। এক্ষেত্রে খানিকটা বাস্তববাদী হলে তাঁর মতামত আরও বেশি গ্রহণীয় হতো।
শিক্ষা নিয়ে বার্ট্রান্ড রাসেলের সাথে প্রমথ চৌধুরীর মতাদর্শের আশ্চর্য মিল লক্ষ করা যায়। দু'জনই এমন শিক্ষাব্যবস্থার পক্ষে যেখানে শিক্ষার্থীদের মানসকে দাস বানানো হবে না। বরং প্রশ্ন করার, ভিন্নমত পোষণ করার ক্ষমতাকে বিকশিত করবে। সেক্স এডুকেশনকে ভীষণ গুরুত্বপূর্ণ মনে করেন বার্ট্রান্ড রাসেল। এই শিক্ষার অভাবে মূল্যবোধের অবক্ষয়ের কেমন করে বিস্তার লাভ করে তা লিখেছেন প্রাবন্ধিক রাসেল।
যুক্তিবোধের সঙ্গে মনুষ্যত্ববোধের মিশ্রণে এক আদর্শ মানুষ বার্ট্রান্ড রাসেল। শিক্ষা এবং সমাজ নিয়ে তিনি খুব আদর্শবাদী মানুষ। এক্ষেত্রে খানিকটা বাস্তববাদী হলে তাঁর মতামত আরও বেশি গ্রহণীয় হতো।
May 14, 2011
Mostly this one will just be a couple of quotes I’ve selected from the text to perhaps use in an essay I’m writing – but that will probably never actually make it. This book starts and ends with a discussion of the difference between educating people as citizens and educating them as individuals. There are problems with both extremes, although, today we no longer seem to think of them as extremes on a continuum.
Essentially, the argument is that since the state is the main force responsible for providing education to the young and since the state is greatly interested in its own preservation, education will tend to be indoctrination. To the extent that education by the state is about developing citizens it will also tend to be about developing ‘yes-men’. This is an interesting alternative to Dewey’s view that education in a democracy is about developing citizens who can think for themselves.
The issue here is really Aristotelian, and his golden mean. Individuals are pains, citizens are morons – fortunately there is a grey area in the middle and my advice, for what it is worth, is aim for that.
There are lots of speculations at the end of this about how the Soviet Union is likely to progress and how this might present a challenge to capitalism in ways that capitalism ought to be challenged. These must be read with the fact this was written between the wars firmly at front of mind.
Otherwise, a lot of this is interesting, often insightful and some of it even amusing. It is written in a very plain style, which I always feel is a plus, but it is hardly ‘systematic’ and suffers from appearing to be ‘the thoughts of Bertie’.
Some quotes and page numbers:
“Educators in every country except Russia tend to be constitutionally timid, and, either by their income or by their snobbery, to be adherents of the rich. On both grounds their teaching tends to over-emphases the importance of the law and the constitution, although these give the past a paralysing hold over the present.” 13
“There are, however, certain respects in which the advocate of change is likely to give better education than the advocate of the status quo. Animal habit is sufficient in itself to make a man like the old ways, just as it makes a horse like to turn down a road which it usually turns down. None of the higher mental processes are required for conservatism. The advocate of change, on the contrary, must have a certain degree of imagination in order to be able to conceive of anything different from what exists. He must also have some power of judging the present from the standpoint of values, and, since he cannot well be unaware that the status quo has its advocates, he must realise that there are at least two views which are possible for a sane human being. Moreover, he is not obliged to close his sympathies against the victims of existing cruelties, or to invent elaborate reasons to prove that easily preventable sufferings ought not to be prevented. Both intelligence and sympathy, therefore, tend to be less repressed by an education hostile to the status quo then by one which is friendly to it.” 13
“Persons reaching a certain level in examinations will be allowed to place after their names the letters L.T., meaning ‘Licensed to Think’. Such persons shall thereafter never be disqualified from any post on the ground that they think their superiors fools.” 15
“The causes of this failure are partly intellectual , partly psychological. To begin with the intellectual causes, which lie nearer the surface: the spirit of the public schools is one of contempt for intelligence. Masters are selected largely for their athletic qualifications; they must conform, at least outwardly, to a whole code of behaviour, religious, political, social, and moral, which is intolerable to most intelligent people; they must encourage the boys to be so constantly occupied that they will have no time for sexual sin, and incidentally no time to think; they must discourage whatever traces of mental independence may survive here and there among the cleverer boys; and in the end they must turn out a finished product so imbued with the worship of good form as to be incapable of learning anything important for the rest of life.” 47-48
“Democratic education unadulterated has evils which are as great as those of aristocracy, if not greater. Democracy as a sentiment has two sides. When it says ‘I am as good as you’, it is wholesome; but when it says ‘you are no better than I am’, it becomes oppressive and an obstacle to the development of exceptional merit.” 49
“I have dealt hitherto with incidental disadvantages derived from class-distinctions, but I have only touched upon the greatest disadvantage, which is ethical. Wherever unjust inequities exist, a man who profits by them tends to protect himself from a sense of guilt by theories suggesting that he is some way better than those who are less fortunate.” 92
“The first thing the average educator sets to work to kill in the young is imagination. Imagination is lawless, undisciplined, individual, and neither correct nor incorrect; in all these respects it is inconvenient to the teacher.” 95
“For the sake of examinations, young people have to learn by heart all kinds of things, such as dates, which it is far more sensible to look up in books of reference. The proper sort of instruction teaches the use of books, not useless feats of memory designed to make books unnecessary.” 103
“The fatigue of intellectual work is largely due to the effort of forcing oneself to give attention to what is boring, and therefore any method that removes the boredom also removes most of the fatigue.” 103
Essentially, the argument is that since the state is the main force responsible for providing education to the young and since the state is greatly interested in its own preservation, education will tend to be indoctrination. To the extent that education by the state is about developing citizens it will also tend to be about developing ‘yes-men’. This is an interesting alternative to Dewey’s view that education in a democracy is about developing citizens who can think for themselves.
The issue here is really Aristotelian, and his golden mean. Individuals are pains, citizens are morons – fortunately there is a grey area in the middle and my advice, for what it is worth, is aim for that.
There are lots of speculations at the end of this about how the Soviet Union is likely to progress and how this might present a challenge to capitalism in ways that capitalism ought to be challenged. These must be read with the fact this was written between the wars firmly at front of mind.
Otherwise, a lot of this is interesting, often insightful and some of it even amusing. It is written in a very plain style, which I always feel is a plus, but it is hardly ‘systematic’ and suffers from appearing to be ‘the thoughts of Bertie’.
Some quotes and page numbers:
“Educators in every country except Russia tend to be constitutionally timid, and, either by their income or by their snobbery, to be adherents of the rich. On both grounds their teaching tends to over-emphases the importance of the law and the constitution, although these give the past a paralysing hold over the present.” 13
“There are, however, certain respects in which the advocate of change is likely to give better education than the advocate of the status quo. Animal habit is sufficient in itself to make a man like the old ways, just as it makes a horse like to turn down a road which it usually turns down. None of the higher mental processes are required for conservatism. The advocate of change, on the contrary, must have a certain degree of imagination in order to be able to conceive of anything different from what exists. He must also have some power of judging the present from the standpoint of values, and, since he cannot well be unaware that the status quo has its advocates, he must realise that there are at least two views which are possible for a sane human being. Moreover, he is not obliged to close his sympathies against the victims of existing cruelties, or to invent elaborate reasons to prove that easily preventable sufferings ought not to be prevented. Both intelligence and sympathy, therefore, tend to be less repressed by an education hostile to the status quo then by one which is friendly to it.” 13
“Persons reaching a certain level in examinations will be allowed to place after their names the letters L.T., meaning ‘Licensed to Think’. Such persons shall thereafter never be disqualified from any post on the ground that they think their superiors fools.” 15
“The causes of this failure are partly intellectual , partly psychological. To begin with the intellectual causes, which lie nearer the surface: the spirit of the public schools is one of contempt for intelligence. Masters are selected largely for their athletic qualifications; they must conform, at least outwardly, to a whole code of behaviour, religious, political, social, and moral, which is intolerable to most intelligent people; they must encourage the boys to be so constantly occupied that they will have no time for sexual sin, and incidentally no time to think; they must discourage whatever traces of mental independence may survive here and there among the cleverer boys; and in the end they must turn out a finished product so imbued with the worship of good form as to be incapable of learning anything important for the rest of life.” 47-48
“Democratic education unadulterated has evils which are as great as those of aristocracy, if not greater. Democracy as a sentiment has two sides. When it says ‘I am as good as you’, it is wholesome; but when it says ‘you are no better than I am’, it becomes oppressive and an obstacle to the development of exceptional merit.” 49
“I have dealt hitherto with incidental disadvantages derived from class-distinctions, but I have only touched upon the greatest disadvantage, which is ethical. Wherever unjust inequities exist, a man who profits by them tends to protect himself from a sense of guilt by theories suggesting that he is some way better than those who are less fortunate.” 92
“The first thing the average educator sets to work to kill in the young is imagination. Imagination is lawless, undisciplined, individual, and neither correct nor incorrect; in all these respects it is inconvenient to the teacher.” 95
“For the sake of examinations, young people have to learn by heart all kinds of things, such as dates, which it is far more sensible to look up in books of reference. The proper sort of instruction teaches the use of books, not useless feats of memory designed to make books unnecessary.” 103
“The fatigue of intellectual work is largely due to the effort of forcing oneself to give attention to what is boring, and therefore any method that removes the boredom also removes most of the fatigue.” 103
August 30, 2017
It’s tough categorizing Bertrand Russell books because they tend to read like in-depth analyses but at the same time these are just Russell’s opinions and experiences that he’s recounting. The thing is of course that Russell has a very persuasive and charming demeanor to him that makes him very convincing. It’s undoubtedly why his writings brought him such success. Education and the Social Order is a perfect example of what we’re talking about.
Bertrand Russell never stopped considering what a perfect school for children would look like. Maybe he felt like he had some experience since he had both tried and failed to create his own school. In this book, Russell basically argues that we have two choices when it comes to education: educate people as citizens or as individuals. Note that citizens function to benefit society and the state, while individuals are left free to pursue their personal desires and be selfish if they want to. We probably just need a happy medium. It’s funny to think how Christianity began as a rebellion against the state but took on a character of obeying the state. Of course here enters Russell’s favorite comparison, which is US/European systems vs the Soviet system. In the Soviet system, the individual is sacrificed so that the system, taking on the role of the church, can survive and hopefully benefit the individual. And when one looks at everything from purely a matter of class-struggle, things like science suffer greatly.
But if an individual culture fosters freedom in its citizens and encourages them to ask questions, you end up with a difficult situation for the State. This along with issues of heredity, discipline, home vs public schooling (including the dysfunction brought on by isolating boys and girls), sex, patriotism, herd mentality, religion, and much more are all touched upon however briefly by Russell, and all with his trademark lucidity and wit. Education and Social Order might be a short book, but it packs quite a punch.
Bertrand Russell never stopped considering what a perfect school for children would look like. Maybe he felt like he had some experience since he had both tried and failed to create his own school. In this book, Russell basically argues that we have two choices when it comes to education: educate people as citizens or as individuals. Note that citizens function to benefit society and the state, while individuals are left free to pursue their personal desires and be selfish if they want to. We probably just need a happy medium. It’s funny to think how Christianity began as a rebellion against the state but took on a character of obeying the state. Of course here enters Russell’s favorite comparison, which is US/European systems vs the Soviet system. In the Soviet system, the individual is sacrificed so that the system, taking on the role of the church, can survive and hopefully benefit the individual. And when one looks at everything from purely a matter of class-struggle, things like science suffer greatly.
But if an individual culture fosters freedom in its citizens and encourages them to ask questions, you end up with a difficult situation for the State. This along with issues of heredity, discipline, home vs public schooling (including the dysfunction brought on by isolating boys and girls), sex, patriotism, herd mentality, religion, and much more are all touched upon however briefly by Russell, and all with his trademark lucidity and wit. Education and Social Order might be a short book, but it packs quite a punch.
September 30, 2020
I found one day in school a boy of medium size ill-treating a smaller boy. I expostulated, but he replied: "The bigs hit me, so I hit the babies; that's fair." In these words he epitomized the history of the human race.
Bertrand Russell, Education and the Social Order
Bertrand Russell, Education and the Social Order
January 3, 2024
এটা প্রায়ই কঠিন একটা ব্যাপার যে, বার্ট্রান্ড রাসেলের থিওরি/ দর্শনগুলো পড়া এবং সঠিক ভাবে বুঝতে পারাটা।
ভুলগুলো মূলত কাউকে এগিয়ে এসে ধরিয়ে দিতে হয়, অন্যথায় মানুষ জন্মলগ্নের পর হতে, যা দেখে বা শুনে সেটাই ধারণ এবং লালন করে থাকে।
কু-সংস্কার, অন্ধবিশ্বাস, গোঁড়ামি ইত্যাদি বিষয়গুলো মানুষের বুদ্ধিবৃত্তিকে নষ্ট করে দেয়। লেখক এখানে, তাঁর নিজের মতো করে যুক্তিতর্কের মাধ্যমে শিক্ষা এবং সমাজকাঠামোর দিকটি তুলে ধরেন। বইটিতে লেখক তা তুলে ধরার চেষ্টা করেছেন।
ভুলগুলো মূলত কাউকে এগিয়ে এসে ধরিয়ে দিতে হয়, অন্যথায় মানুষ জন্মলগ্নের পর হতে, যা দেখে বা শুনে সেটাই ধারণ এবং লালন করে থাকে।
কু-সংস্কার, অন্ধবিশ্বাস, গোঁড়ামি ইত্যাদি বিষয়গুলো মানুষের বুদ্ধিবৃত্তিকে নষ্ট করে দেয়। লেখক এখানে, তাঁর নিজের মতো করে যুক্তিতর্কের মাধ্যমে শিক্ষা এবং সমাজকাঠামোর দিকটি তুলে ধরেন। বইটিতে লেখক তা তুলে ধরার চেষ্টা করেছেন।
February 3, 2017
It has some very important implications for educators when it comes to competition vs cooperation. Thought-provoking for the most part, but is held back sometimes by overemphasising intellectualism to the point that it could be emotionally damaging to students. That being said, it is a great book to help spark questioning of our educational system. Much of it is still relevant today.
October 2, 2019
The clarity of Bertrand Russel's thought reflects in his writing. All of his ideas on education is relevant today. Should read more of this master philosopher.
November 12, 2024
In these essays, Russell delved into the fundamental tension between two distinct educational aims. 1) shaping individuals to serve the state as responsible citizens or 2) fostering autonomy where individuals are free to pursue their own desires. Russell critically examines the consequences of each approach, arguing that education should navigate between the needs of society and the rights of the individual.
These are not mere binary choices. Russell offers a more nuanced discussion and that a balance must be struck. He recognizes the importance of educating for social cohesion - the common good, but also warns against the dangers of indoctrination - ultimately stifling individual freedom. He also explores how educational systems, historically, often favor one of these aims over the other, to the detriment of both personal liberty and social progress.
There are many comparative studies of British, American and Russian schools which explore critique of the then prevailing educational systems, particularly in terms of their hierarchical and authoritarian structures.
While Russell advocates for an education that encourages critical thinking and personal growth, his critique of state-controlled education systems reveals a deeper concern about how power dynamics shape knowledge and conformity.
The emphasis is on fostering independent thought, without sacrificing the ability to function as part of a broader society.
These are not mere binary choices. Russell offers a more nuanced discussion and that a balance must be struck. He recognizes the importance of educating for social cohesion - the common good, but also warns against the dangers of indoctrination - ultimately stifling individual freedom. He also explores how educational systems, historically, often favor one of these aims over the other, to the detriment of both personal liberty and social progress.
There are many comparative studies of British, American and Russian schools which explore critique of the then prevailing educational systems, particularly in terms of their hierarchical and authoritarian structures.
While Russell advocates for an education that encourages critical thinking and personal growth, his critique of state-controlled education systems reveals a deeper concern about how power dynamics shape knowledge and conformity.
The emphasis is on fostering independent thought, without sacrificing the ability to function as part of a broader society.
August 27, 2025
Dice Russell que en las escuelas, noventa de cada cien alumnos estudian por temor al castigo, nueve porque compiten por las mejores notas y solo uno estudia por amor al conocimiento. Y que en una escuela mejor éstos últimos pueden ser muchos más. Yo en la escuela secundaria lamentablemente fui parte de ese nueve por cien.
El libro está lleno de observaciones aguadas y arriesgadas, que con el paso de los años resultaron más o menos atinadas. A Russell le anima el afán de construir una sociedad mejor que cualquiera que haya existido, y aunque seguimos lejos de ese ideal, nos acercamos un poquito cada vez que lo leemos.
El libro está lleno de observaciones aguadas y arriesgadas, que con el paso de los años resultaron más o menos atinadas. A Russell le anima el afán de construir una sociedad mejor que cualquiera que haya existido, y aunque seguimos lejos de ese ideal, nos acercamos un poquito cada vez que lo leemos.
May 28, 2019
reading it was such a challenge for me since I usually don't enjoy this kind of books. I found some ideas out dated yet his writing style was delightful and witty.
August 16, 2022
'Education and the social order' book is undaunted with knowledge. It completely conveys ideas about primitive people and their evolution.
April 29, 2023
One Russell's more stinging books, almost everyone gets rebuked.
January 19, 2025
Amazing reflections on Education from an almost 100 year old book
April 3, 2025
বিভিন্ন সভ্যতা, সমাজ ও আদর্শের বেড়াজালে আবদ্ধ শিক্ষা ও সমাজকাঠামোকে সংক্ষিপ্তভাবে তুলে ধরেছেন। অনেক বিতর্কিত ইস্যু তিনি এড়িয়ে গেছেন। সবমিলিয়ে ভালো লেগেছে।
June 22, 2023
Faydalı kitaplar serisinden 93 numaralı bu kitap, Varlık Yayınları A.Ş. tarafından ilki Ocak 1976 da basılmış, Haziran 1981 deki ikinci baskısını 1984 yılında alıp okumuştum. Çok beğenerek okuduğumu anımsıyorum. İlk fırsatta tekrar okuyacağım. Tavsiye edebileceğim kitaplardan biridir.
November 21, 2021
Russell defines the individualistic approach of the students with the state approach, he wrote that how the system even if it's capitalism or communism mostly has derived students according to their strategic educations. Which has been the cause for the severity of unhealthy education, which has been the cause of all catastrophes within our education system.
How our students while having the right to teach how to think and how to find the ways to know the truth besides they are being taught what to think and what is true regarding the state-imposed truths.
How our students while having the right to teach how to think and how to find the ways to know the truth besides they are being taught what to think and what is true regarding the state-imposed truths.
March 31, 2016
Very shallow.
Displaying 1 - 19 of 19 reviews