Status Updates From Geek Heresy: Rescuing Socia...

My hope in the rest of the book is to show how heart, mind, and will–not just in individuals, but in societies–are the essence of social change for purely practical reasons that transcend creed, culture, and politics. To do so, I need vocabulary without baggage.

What the US education system needs above all isn’t more technology, but a deliberate allocation of high-quality adult supervision focused on those who need it most. The specifics are daunting and complex, but this isn’t a problem that technology can fix. 27

Balance is utmost, but balance is difficult even to talk about in a world of polarized sound bites. 67 Novel, measurable, large-scale, turbo-charged, value-free, market-oriented packaged interventions for freedom-drunk, goal-driven, meritocratic individualists dominate our notions of social change. This creed has been terrific so far for those of us who have benefited.

In scholarship, the Enlightenment ushered in the reign of science and reason over superstition and dogma. In culture, it exalted meritocracy and pluralism. In economics, it gave backing to property rights and national growth. And in government, it brought down dictatorships and gave birth to democracy.

Of course, technologies can enrich lives; voting can empower citizens; and microcredit can lead to better livelihoods. But “can” is not always “will.” Modern society fetishizes technocratic devices, but it’s a human finger on the on-switch and a human hand at the controls. Why are we so enamored of shrink-wrapped quick fixes?

What isn’t a packaged intervention? The caring attention of a good teacher. Citizen participation in a protest march. The capable execution of a vaccination program by a well-managed health-care system. A political leader’s decision to do what’s right in spite of pressure from special interests. Human virtues can’t be packaged.