The Interplay of Law, Economics and Culture in the Modern Era and Its Influence on the Development Prospects of Educational Institutions. The Screeching Wheels of Social Machines

Abstract

This article is a response to Georgy Lyubarsky’s profound and farsighted speculations about the functioning of educational institutions in the new social context, where conventional approaches cannot be applied anymore. In a situation where mass media take over the school’s function of producing meanings for the public, it becomes impossible to speak about the “majority” and, consequently, about any classical culture common for that majority. Meanwhile, it appears a good idea to create a new mythology (perhaps, a university mythology) that would allow elaborating the theory of general education, first of all in universities, at a new level. If the concepts proposed are considered as viable, development models should also be proposed for institutions of secondary education, where it would make sense to use traditional western and pre-Soviet models of school organization, in much the same way that investors in a recession turn to conservative assets.