Politics · Brazil · 6 hrs ago
Column argues education alone cannot fix Brazil's inequality
A Brazilian columnist argues that education is often used to avoid debating elite privilege and the concentration of wealth.
Better education can raise workers’ productivity, but it does not determine who receives the gains.
That also depends on how markets work and how much power workers have to negotiate their pay.
The columnist says focusing on education can make inequality seem like a result of individual effort, while hiding the role of inherited wealth and advantages.
Educational philanthropy may help some young people, the column argues, but it does not change rules that disadvantage millions.
The columnist concludes that Brazil needs to examine how wealth is distributed and that elites, especially those who inherit their position, should better understand their role in society.
A Folha column argues that education alone cannot address Brazil’s economic inequality.
The columnist says that who benefits from higher productivity also depends on how markets work and how much bargaining power workers have.
The column argues that inherited wealth and advantages built up over generations are obscured when inequality is explained mainly by education.
It says changing the rules that shape wealth distribution is necessary to widen opportunities, despite resistance from those who benefit from the current rules.
The column calls for Brazil’s elites, especially those who inherited their status, to learn to distinguish their privileges from the country’s interests.
- Who
- An unnamed Folha columnist. The text continues a series based on a book co-written with Stanford professor Martin Carnoy.
- What
- The column argues that education by itself cannot fix Brazil’s inequality. It says changes to wealth-distribution rules are also needed.
- When
- Published on November 9, 2026.
- Where
- Brazil.
- Why
- The columnist says inequality is shaped by inherited wealth, market rules and workers’ bargaining power, not education alone.
This story does not have two clearly opposing sides.
This story does not have a timeline yet.
- Publication date
- November 9, 2026
- Outlet
- Folha
- Book
- Poder e Preconceito
- Co-author
- Martin Carnoy, professor at Stanford University
- Song cited
- YáYá Massemba, performed by Maria Bethânia
What people are saying
A society can educate increasingly qualified workers and continue to pay extraordinarily well those who inherited wealth and other advantages, while paying modest wages to those who effectively produce an important part of the wealth.
The most relevant education for Brazil at this moment is precisely that which teaches our elites, especially hereditary ones, to distinguish their privileges from the interests of the country.
The educational revolution we need most begins precisely with those who most like prescribing education to others.