Comments on Matthew Arnold's “Philistinism in England and America” In his essay “Philistinism in England and America,” Matthew Arnold examines Plato's ancient ideas in the context of a 20th century. , capitalist society. Since he agrees with almost everything Plato said, he also admits that he is outdated and that some of his teachings cannot apply to us, living in an industrial superpower like the United States. Arnold nevertheless defends the ancient philosopher. Education as a path to mental and physical righteousness is always a good idea, whether in modern America or ancient Greece. I disagree with this, and this is where I must take issue with Plato's writings, as well as Arnold's essay, as he is undoubtedly a strong believer in ancient ideals. In Plato's mind, the value of an education is to rid the mind of impure thoughts, to bring it to a higher level than at the beginning, and to achieve a certain level of righteousness. This may have been a good idea 2,300 years ago, but today I consider it very restrictive and impractical. In his time, only rich aristocrats went to school. The goal was not for students to learn skills or ideas that would help them later in life, but to broaden their minds, thereby making them “better people.” There was no need for them to acquire professional skills. Back then, if you came from a rich family, you were rich. Simple jobs were reserved for peasants and slaves. Today, life is different. Our society is totally different from that of the Ancient Greeks. We don't have a caste system limiting a citizen's wealth and importance, we don't have slavery to handle all the manual labor, our military is proportionately smaller and much less honored, and religion is part of everyone's private life, not a dominant public force. as was the case for the ancient Greeks. Today, most people have a regular job, whether in an office, a store, a factory or elsewhere. We must earn our wealth by working, not by inheriting. This is why most people go to school today. I'm attending NYU so I can get a job later in life. I'm studying chemistry and engineering, hoping to become a chemical engineer.