Introduction
The steady decline of youth voter turnout in Canada calls for drastic action to reverse this trend and engage youth with their civic responsibilities to ensure a strong voter turnout that will ultimately arbitrate the health of Canada’s democratic system in the future (Elections Canada, 2011). Political education within formal institutions is perhaps the most penetrative opportunity to reach youth across Canada (Canada’s Public Policy Forum, 2012). Despite this opportunity to access the minds of young Canadians in their most impressionable years, critics frequently accuse the government of not providing an adequate focus on political education within the required school curriculum. With a focus on the Kantian ethics of “means …show more content…
I relate this idea to Canada’s governmental system, because it is possible that they are favoring issues that are more prevalent to the older and larger demographic, thus ignoring issues that are central to the youth population. The living wage movement is fighting for a higher minimum wage that would take workers above the poverty level. One of the key arguments in this movement is that the government should be investing in youth, as they are part of a demographic that commonly works for minimum wage and will be integral to our economy in the future (Green, 2014). Using uneducated workers to fill the hard labour or menial job positions for a below poverty wage is an example of Utilitarianism in the government’s agenda. The student debt crisis is another area that appears to be an unethical example of Utilitarianism. High interest rates for government funded student loans are often critiqued as a means to generate revenue for the government, instead of investing in the economic leaders of tomorrow (Kielburger, …show more content…
As Kant argued, it is unethical to use someone as a means to an end. Thus, it is unethical that the government is ignoring issues that matter to youth, and not making moves to reverse the consequences arising from the decline in youth voter turnout. The government has the power to implement political education within school curriculums, yet chooses to keep it out of the classrooms (Chareka and Sears, 2006). Educating youth in politics is evidently not a priority of Canada’s political agenda. Although the reason for such decision is under speculation, it is a clear example of the government failing to see the big picture and making policies that are focused on satisfying their own political
The steady decline of youth voter turnout in Canada calls for drastic action to reverse this trend and engage youth with their civic responsibilities to ensure a strong voter turnout that will ultimately arbitrate the health of Canada’s democratic system in the future (Elections Canada, 2011). Political education within formal institutions is perhaps the most penetrative opportunity to reach youth across Canada (Canada’s Public Policy Forum, 2012). Despite this opportunity to access the minds of young Canadians in their most impressionable years, critics frequently accuse the government of not providing an adequate focus on political education within the required school curriculum. With a focus on the Kantian ethics of “means …show more content…
I relate this idea to Canada’s governmental system, because it is possible that they are favoring issues that are more prevalent to the older and larger demographic, thus ignoring issues that are central to the youth population. The living wage movement is fighting for a higher minimum wage that would take workers above the poverty level. One of the key arguments in this movement is that the government should be investing in youth, as they are part of a demographic that commonly works for minimum wage and will be integral to our economy in the future (Green, 2014). Using uneducated workers to fill the hard labour or menial job positions for a below poverty wage is an example of Utilitarianism in the government’s agenda. The student debt crisis is another area that appears to be an unethical example of Utilitarianism. High interest rates for government funded student loans are often critiqued as a means to generate revenue for the government, instead of investing in the economic leaders of tomorrow (Kielburger, …show more content…
As Kant argued, it is unethical to use someone as a means to an end. Thus, it is unethical that the government is ignoring issues that matter to youth, and not making moves to reverse the consequences arising from the decline in youth voter turnout. The government has the power to implement political education within school curriculums, yet chooses to keep it out of the classrooms (Chareka and Sears, 2006). Educating youth in politics is evidently not a priority of Canada’s political agenda. Although the reason for such decision is under speculation, it is a clear example of the government failing to see the big picture and making policies that are focused on satisfying their own political