By Sam
The world of Harry Potter is a strange place. I know it’s meant to be wondrous and magical and all that, but behind the glamour you really have to wonder what the ultimate goal of their education was.
At school the children learn to transform objects, perform telekinesis, open locks, fight dark wizards and play some retarded sport where two guys chase a golden testicle around and try to convince the other players that they actually matter. Who designed that education curriculum, and what were they trying to achieve?
At school the children learn to transform objects, perform telekinesis, open locks, fight dark wizards and play some retarded sport where two guys chase a golden testicle around and try to convince the other players that they actually matter. Who designed that education curriculum, and what were they trying to achieve?
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| Duh... potato? |
Perhaps the founders of Hogwarts -- or the Ministry of Magic, or Dumbledore, or whoever set out the education system -- didn’t really have an end-goal in mind. There’s a pretty good case to be made that their train of thought didn’t go any further than “Magic is cool, therefore we should teach magic.” However, that sounds unlikely to me.
This is a society that’s run by a government with the organisational nuance to keep an entire civilization secret from the mundane world. You’d think they’d have pretty tight reigns on the education system. In fact, we know they do: in Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix the Ministry of Magic disapproves of what Dumbledore is teaching and proceeds to step in to appoint a new teacher, Dolores Umbridge, all despite his protests. No consultation, no arguments. This is a private school, and yet the government has the power to hire and fire staff with relative impunity. With that level of control you have to wonder why the education system is so woefully inadequate.
Wait, you might be saying, for a magical world it’s a bit of an overstatement to say that an education in magic is "woefully inadequate".
The thing is, I’m not saying that the students shouldn’t be taught magic, but that by teaching magic to the exclusion of all other subjects Hogwarts is leaving its graduates hamstrung when it comes to social mobility.
This is a society that’s run by a government with the organisational nuance to keep an entire civilization secret from the mundane world. You’d think they’d have pretty tight reigns on the education system. In fact, we know they do: in Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix the Ministry of Magic disapproves of what Dumbledore is teaching and proceeds to step in to appoint a new teacher, Dolores Umbridge, all despite his protests. No consultation, no arguments. This is a private school, and yet the government has the power to hire and fire staff with relative impunity. With that level of control you have to wonder why the education system is so woefully inadequate.
Wait, you might be saying, for a magical world it’s a bit of an overstatement to say that an education in magic is "woefully inadequate".
The thing is, I’m not saying that the students shouldn’t be taught magic, but that by teaching magic to the exclusion of all other subjects Hogwarts is leaving its graduates hamstrung when it comes to social mobility.
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| Crucible of incompetence or pressure cooker of idiocy? |
In the wizarding world magic has replaced the means of production in a wide array of fields, but it hasn’t replaced them in every area. We see that wizards still need to buy food, clothes, books, wands etc, and they do that with money. If they could manufacture anything they needed out of thin air, then a comparison with the mundane economy would be impossible, but it’s clear that that power is beyond them.
Magic, for all the advantages it lends to wizards, fails to balance the disparity between rich and poor. We see this in families like the Weasleys, whose magic is unable to furnish them with the high quality clothes and equipment they desire.
Once they leave school, wizards end up working relatively menial jobs in shops, taverns and government departments, all to earn the money they need to support themselves. It must be a sobering realisation for formerly-muggle wizards to escape the mundane world, only to find out that the currency of the wizarding world is still currency.
Once they leave school, wizards end up working relatively menial jobs in shops, taverns and government departments, all to earn the money they need to support themselves. It must be a sobering realisation for formerly-muggle wizards to escape the mundane world, only to find out that the currency of the wizarding world is still currency.
How does this relate to the education curriculum at Hogwarts?
Magic, as we see on multiple occasions, is primarily used to supplement physical labour. Given that it’s the only thing they teach at Hogwarts, the students are left with the skills for manufacturing, or possibly combat, but little else. Without a grounding in muggle subjects, such as maths and English, wizards are not given the opportunity to take on roles that require these skills at anything over a sixth grade level. Without those skills how can the students be expected to earn money and move up in the world?
Magic, as we see on multiple occasions, is primarily used to supplement physical labour. Given that it’s the only thing they teach at Hogwarts, the students are left with the skills for manufacturing, or possibly combat, but little else. Without a grounding in muggle subjects, such as maths and English, wizards are not given the opportunity to take on roles that require these skills at anything over a sixth grade level. Without those skills how can the students be expected to earn money and move up in the world?
If that's the case, how do people become rich in the wizarding world?
The Weasley twins are perhaps the only example of successful entrepreneurship, but they’re shown to be an anomaly -- misfits at school to the point where they fail to complete their “education”, and abnormally successful at business. Without their level of natural business acumen, how do other people make their fortunes? The three other rich characters we see are Draco Malfoy, Sirius Black and Harry Potter himself, and they all got their money in exactly the same way: inheritance.
What does that say about society in the magical world? Certainly not that it’s an egalitarian one with opportunity for all.
The Weasley twins are perhaps the only example of successful entrepreneurship, but they’re shown to be an anomaly -- misfits at school to the point where they fail to complete their “education”, and abnormally successful at business. Without their level of natural business acumen, how do other people make their fortunes? The three other rich characters we see are Draco Malfoy, Sirius Black and Harry Potter himself, and they all got their money in exactly the same way: inheritance.
What does that say about society in the magical world? Certainly not that it’s an egalitarian one with opportunity for all.
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| OBEY. |
Look a bit closer and it becomes apparent that magical society is highly stratified. The old families act like medieval aristocrats, obsessed with bloodlines and superiority, and they’re not just some crazy fringe elements either. Even if we ignore the fact that there appears to be an entire house dedicated to them at Hogwarts, in the very centre of the Ministry of Magic itself we’re told that there’s a gigantic golden statue of all the lesser races looking up to a wizard in awe and supplication. On his very first day Harry Potter is approached by Draco Malfoy with an offer to join his “rich old families club”. He is, in effect, being encouraged to take up his place among the old-money aristocracy.
The only thing that stops the stratification being more prevalent at the school is the relatively benign presence of Dumbledore, a headmaster who’s known for holding a lot of strange ideas. Once the students leave school there appears to be nothing to stop the rich and powerful from acting with impunity.
The only thing that stops the stratification being more prevalent at the school is the relatively benign presence of Dumbledore, a headmaster who’s known for holding a lot of strange ideas. Once the students leave school there appears to be nothing to stop the rich and powerful from acting with impunity.
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| I just rubbed your toothbrush on my balls. What are you going to do about it? |
Looking at the available evidence, the government of the Harry Potter universe is starting to look less like a communal democracy, and more like a traditional feudal system, with the toffs at the top and the peasants firmly stuck at the bottom. It's a place where the majority of money and power is invested in a few families, and the rest are left to scrabble for what little is left.
Even the Weasley twins -- our one shining example of social success -- aren’t completely separate from the system. Without the financial backing of Harry Potter and his old money their business would never have got off the ground. So much for making it on your own.
Even the Weasley twins -- our one shining example of social success -- aren’t completely separate from the system. Without the financial backing of Harry Potter and his old money their business would never have got off the ground. So much for making it on your own.
The introduction of muggle children with magical powers into the wizarding world only serves to heighten the disparity. How do former-muggles support themselves in a place where their money is worthless? Is there an exchange rate between muggle money and wizard money? We can only assume there is, because people from non-wizard families are able to buy stuff, but that’s pretty scant comfort when you look at the currency.
According to Wikipedia there are three types of coins: bronze knuts, silver sickles and gold galleons. One galleon is 17 sickles and one sickle is 29 knuts.
Now, I looked up the exchange rates for gold and silver at the moment. With the caveat that gold and silver are at all time highs, these days silver will cost you about $48 an ounce ($35 in less crazy days) and an ounce of gold will set you back $1,510 ($810 in 2007)*.
The end result of that? Even the richest muggle-born kids might only be able to afford the bare essentials. If they’re lucky. Never mind about those people who couldn’t even afford stuff in the normal world**.
Compare that to the riches that Harry seems to have inherited. When we see his bank vault in the book, it’s a huge room filled with pile upon pile of gold. That’s not just wealth, that’s the unassailable ultra-wealth of the aristocracy. The gap between rich and poor is so wide that the poor in this world couldn’t even dream of reaching those heights, especially without the indulgence of their lords and masters.
Sounds fun if you're at the top pooping down, not so much if you're at the bottom looking up. Even in the world of witchcraft and wizardry, the little guy really never gets a break.
According to Wikipedia there are three types of coins: bronze knuts, silver sickles and gold galleons. One galleon is 17 sickles and one sickle is 29 knuts.
Now, I looked up the exchange rates for gold and silver at the moment. With the caveat that gold and silver are at all time highs, these days silver will cost you about $48 an ounce ($35 in less crazy days) and an ounce of gold will set you back $1,510 ($810 in 2007)*.
The end result of that? Even the richest muggle-born kids might only be able to afford the bare essentials. If they’re lucky. Never mind about those people who couldn’t even afford stuff in the normal world**.
Compare that to the riches that Harry seems to have inherited. When we see his bank vault in the book, it’s a huge room filled with pile upon pile of gold. That’s not just wealth, that’s the unassailable ultra-wealth of the aristocracy. The gap between rich and poor is so wide that the poor in this world couldn’t even dream of reaching those heights, especially without the indulgence of their lords and masters.
Sounds fun if you're at the top pooping down, not so much if you're at the bottom looking up. Even in the world of witchcraft and wizardry, the little guy really never gets a break.
* Source
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