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Comment by dolni | Hacker News Reader

What point are you trying to make by misquoting me? Are you trying to compare public school to prison?

> Are you trying to compare public school to prison?

With respect to how both environments force humans to adapt to the institution, and thereby manifest a perverse socialization, yes. The differences are in magnitude, not direction.

I'm reminded of the flawed "alpha" theory of wolf behavior. Turns out the observed dominance struggles were directly related to being in captivity; this form of "socialization" doesn't emerge in the wild.

Sounds like you'd rather we just all live in tribes in the wild.

I, for one, appreciate not having to worry about going hungry, dying of thirst, freezing to death, or being chased down by a pack of wolves. You need a society to facilitate that. Society doesn't work without social norms. And you wouldn't be on Hacker News speculating about this if not for society.

Now you're the one misrepresenting him. We can have society without a school system that abuses kids, and for that matter, a prison system that's much less abusive as well.

I don't see where the misrepresentation is. Are you trying to say that we can have a functional society without raising people to put aside primitive impulses for the good of everyone? Because it should be obvious that is impossible.

Also, where are you getting this idea that kids in school are abused?

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