Ανάρτηση Ερευνητικού Δοκιμίου no 07/26

Ερευνητικό Δοκίμιο no 07/26 με τίτλο Education and Governance: The Russell–Hayek Conundrum Through the Lenses of Ancient Sparta and the “Sparta of the East”

του Γεώργιου Κ. Μπήτρου

Περίληψη

This article examines the role of education, more in the form of character building, as a central instrument of governance through a comparative analysis of Sparta, the Qin Dynasty of China (221–206 BCE) — often described as the “Sparta of the East,”—and modern China. It frames the analysis through the Russell–Hayek conundrum: the tension between the need for social cohesion produced through education and the preservation of individuality necessary for scientific, technological, and cultural advancement. Drawing on the critiques of Bertrand Russell and Friedrich Hayek, the article argues that education systems reflect deeper governance architectures. Sparta represents maximal internalization of obedience through state-controlled education; Qinrepresents externalized control through law and structure; modern China synthesizes these approaches through layered institutional and ideological systems. The article concludes that no system fully resolves the trade-off between disciplined, cohesion, and intellectual freedom, and that this tension remains central to the comparative future of governance models.

                                                                             O Γεώργιος Κ. Μπήτρος είναι Ομότιμος Καθηγητής του τμήματος Οικονομικής Επιστήμης του Οικονομικό Πανεπιστήμιο Αθηνών.