A central argument of this book is that episodes involving mass violence that contribute to an atmosphere of social unrest and political instability are likely to increase national elites’ willingness to invest in primary education in order to prevent future threats against the state… they lead elites to conclude that repression and redistributive concessions alone are insufficient to prevent social disorder.

– Agustina S. Paglayan, Raised to Obey: The Rise and Spread of Mass Education. (page 108)

In her book Raised to Obey, Agustina S. Paglayan presents the thesis that governments introduced mass education not to empower their citizens, but to control them by indoctrinating them as children. She argues that this thesis is supported by evidence concerning the timing of when states introduced mass education, the arguments that persuaded governments to provide mass education, and the training and direction that governments provided to teachers.

By the 1800s, ruling elites were finding that conventional tools of social control, such as a national church, were not sufficient to quiet their populations. Revolutionary fervor emerged as a threat. Rulers became attracted to the theory that primary education could be used to train subjects to obey.

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