On the current problems of education for democracy

Abstract

Abstract The aim of the text is to formulate certain problems and dangers in relation to education for democratic citizenship. The core of these considerations points to the problem of neglecting the fundamental motive of the problem of democracy, which is the relation to truth. The text defines four problem areas that cause reductive understanding of education for democracy, namely: 1. Our understanding of democracy has been reduced to securing the distribution of power in a state and defence of freedom of speech which eliminates the contradictions in the concept of democracy and leaves only its legal-political aspects. 2. The key condition of democracy, which is respect for human rights, has become complicated by the constant proliferation of human rights, oftentimes with individual needs being confused with human rights. 3. We have resigned upon addressing the important issue of balance between equality and outstandingness resulting in consequences for culture as well as education, i. e. loss of identity and absence of footing to base it on. 4. Democracy is closely linked to the ability to think and make decisions according to truth and not on the basis of immediate interests as democracy primarily has to do with an ideal that we look up to. The text also tries to show that education for democracy cannot be satisfactorily ensured by development of partial competences for co-operation and diversity acknowledgement since democracy does not only consist in system and rules but ideas and relation to Truth in the first place.