Democracy and University

This book includes a lecture given by José Saramago at the Complutense University of Madrid in 2005, a transcript of the ensuing debate, and a second lecture, "Truth and Democratic Illusion," given by José Saramago in Santiago, Chile, in April 2003, as part of the "Las Conferencias de la Moneda" series. The book features a foreword by Carlos Edilson de Almeida Maneschy.

“I repeat, the university doesn't have to save us; it's not about saving anyone. Let's just say that the university has to assume its responsibility in the formation of the individual, and it has to go beyond the person, because it's not just about training a good computer scientist or a good doctor, or a good engineer. The university, in addition to good professionals, should produce good citizens. We all need that; we need classes of citizens, and moreover, good citizens, because even though the word is worn out, we must reclaim it, as António Machado did. I believe the university can, I believe you can.”

There is no solution for the university, for its problems, if no solution is found beforehand for the problems of primary and media education; everything is a homogeneous and coherent block… The university tends to reach educated and educated students. How to do it? You will have to find the formulas. The opposite is not respecting yourself, playing with bad cards in a game that cannot end well. And let us remember that the game table is society.

The university is the last formative stage in which the student can convert, with full awareness, into a citizen; It is the place of debate where, by definition, the critical spirit has to flourish: a place of confrontation, not an island where the student disembarks to leave with a diploma.

It's not just about instructing, it's about educating. And, from within, have repercussions on society. Learning citizenship, that's what I sincerely believe is missing. Because, let's face it, democracy is sick, seriously sick, and it's not like you say it, just look at the world...