[Jimbee (OP)]

"Everyone has the right to education. Education shall be free, at least in the elementary and fundamental stages. Elementary education shall be compulsory."

The Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR) Article 26,
10 December 1948, Paris, France.

https://www.un.org/en/about-us/universal-declaration-of-human-rights


As you can see from above, the right to an education is universally recognized as fundamental. But more than that, it seems important that it be mandatory. I've heard in more than one place because it is necessary for your intellectual and psychological development.

Is that true? And how does that work? Also, up till the early 20th Century in the western world, most people were illiterate. How did that affect society? And how are we better off now that most of us can read and do math? How would society be different if we couldn't?

[alancalverd]

Education is what prevents us making the same mistakes as our predecessors.

Reading is supposed to help as it allows us to assimilate a lot of information in our own time, and from the experiences of people who may even be dead, but since most of what is written is  crap (see any political manifesto or chatbot output) or positively dangerous (see any religious text) it is useless without education.