Many, many times through out history knowledge and education have been destroyed to prop up some group that want to rule.
replyBetter chance it's the reverse, civilized societies end up educating people.
replyThe counterpoint to this is that early 20th century Germany was one of the most advanced, sophisticated, and educated countries in the world.
replyIn fact the genocide only stopped when a bunch of unsophisticated American (and Russian) farmboys rolled in.
> was one of the most advanced, sophisticated, and educated countries in the world
replyIt was also an economic disaster. Surely that contributed.
WWI was the cataclysm that destroyed the global economy.
reply(Its aftermath was a necessary transition, that happened to be disastrously mismanaged.)
The current proponents of new "realism" who claim that regional empires will co-exist in peace would do well to study the causes of WWI.
> Is it possible to have a civilization that works well, with institutions that work well, if the population is poorly educated?
replyYes, for some definition of "works well" but the population has to be tightly controlled. It's why the oligarchich elite is so enthused to build out the surveillance state at the same time.