A few weeks later, the teacher proposed a third model.

“We’re going to try a fairer system. Merit will count, but so will solidarity.” The students looked at each other, intrigued.

“Your grades,” he explained, “will depend half on your personal effort and half on the class average. You’re all connected, just like in real life.”
On the first test, everyone worked together, helping each other, discussing, and reviewing as a group. Marie explained, Lucas persevered, and Tom finally listened.
The average rose to 14.
On the second test, some students slacked off, and the average dropped to 10.
But instead of complaining, the class reacted.
They organized themselves, supported each other, and bonded.
Little by little, everyone found their place. Read more...

In the same peaceful school, the following day, the economics teacher wanted to show the other extreme.

“In previous lessons, we looked at socialism,” he said.

“Today, let’s talk about capitalism, the justice of merit. Here, there will be no artificial equality; only effort will count. Work will be rewarded, mediocrity condemned.”
A heavy silence fell.
Marie, lively and bright, felt her blood boil; she wanted to win.
Lucas, tenacious but ordinary, felt anxiety creeping in.
Tom, dreamy and distracted, lowered his head; he sensed his defeat.
The first test was a shock; the best students triumphed, the others fell.
The second test turned into an arena. Some trembled, others rejoiced.
The third test ... Read more...

I received an email from a friend with an attachment, intended for wide distribution. No signature, no context: this initially inspired a certain repulsion in me. Nevertheless, I opened the document.

It described the supposedly “egalitarian” experiment of a middle school class, presented as a miniature version of our society—a highly caricatured vision, of course.
Upon reading it, it became clear to me that the opposite could just as easily be demonstrated.
This is how I came up with the idea of ​​rewriting this text through four educational experiments conducted by an economics teacher. He invites his students to experience, from the inside, the major models that govern our nations: absolute equality, pure merit, the balance between the two, and then the union of forces in service of a common ideal.
One experiment per day. Read more...