So, President Jokowi recently said he wants more people to get fancy degrees like master’s and doctorates here.
Right now, though, only a tiny fraction of our population has those degrees—like 0.45%, not even close to 1%. That’s from tempo.co.
But here’s the thing: What if there are too many brainiacs? Like, what happens if we have way more highly educated folks than we actually need?
Let’s Talk Cliodynamics
Okay, so this might sound kinda out there for Indonesia, but let’s chat about this cool book by an American dude named Peter Turchin.
His book, “End Times,” came out in 2023, and it’s all about this new science called “cliodynamics.” Basically, it’s a mix of history and Big Data—using tons of old data to predict how societies rise and fall.
Now, since the U.S. is a big deal globally, Turchin’s ideas are pretty relevant to us. ‘Cause whatever happens there affects us too, especially since we’re pretty tight with the U.S.
What Happens When There Are Too Many Brainy People?
So, Turchin thinks if there are too many brainy elites in a country and not enough top jobs for them, a “counter-elite” forms. These are the sneaky folks who cheat to get ahead.
Imagine busting your butt to get a degree, playing by the rules, and then getting shafted by some cheat who found a loophole. You’d be mad, right? That anger can mess up a whole society.
Real-Life Examples
Turchin talks about three big figures: Donald Trump, Abraham Lincoln, and Hong Xiuqian. They all clawed their way to the top, but their downfalls led to some serious chaos.
Like, Hong led the bloodiest civil war in history! And after Lincoln got assassinated, America went through a crazy civil war too. And then there’s Trump, whose time in office saw a pandemic and a riot at the Capitol. Wild, right?
So, yeah, Turchin’s book is pretty eye-opening if you’re into history and stuff. You can grab it at Periplus bookstores for Rp345,000. Definitely worth a read if you wanna fresh perspective on things. (*/)
