A Swedish-born former Australian resident in his 20s has made an observation about Aussie attitudes that has sparked a heated online discussion.
The young man, who ‘partially grew up’ living and attending school in Queensland before moving back to Europe, shared his observation about the apparent lack of value Australians place on education and intellectual pursuits.
Taking to Reddit, he shared his views in an ‘Ask An Aussie’ subreddit post titled: ‘What is the cause of Australian anti-intellectualism?’
‘I would like to begin by saying that I like Australia and Australians, and I hope I don’t come across as offensive. This is just one aspect of Australian society,’ he began.
‘In my experience, people in Australia tend to not value education so much.
‘When they do, it’s usually because it leads to a higher-paying job. Knowledge for the sake of knowing is not really valued, the dominating idea being that education only matters if it can be capitalised on.’
The lengthy post saw the man explain that he came to this conclusion after leaving Australia and moving back to Sweden, and later France.
During his time attending school Down Under, the self-declared ‘bookish’ man said he ‘often felt estranged from other students’ on account of his thirst for learning. He added that he struggled to find like-minded ‘people who were interested in literature, poetry and even politics’.
A Swedish-born former Australian resident in his 20s has made an observation about Aussie attitudes that has sparked a heated online discussion (stock image)
‘Very few read books in their free time,’ he added.
The post concluded by asking Aussies to weigh in on this perceived anti-intellectual attitude and offer some explanations.
The post quickly lit up with more than 1,500 responses. Perhaps surprisingly, many were from Aussies who agreed with aspects of the original poster’s sentiment.
The reply that received the most upvotes surmised the issue as stemming from a broader Australian social attitude of wanting to fit in.
The short but popular comment explained: ‘In high school, it doesn’t pay to be scholastic or otherwise different or you get mocked. Sad really, and this often carries forward into everyday life.’
‘Too well spoken? Pronounce your words correctly? You might get bullied,’ one replied.
A different but related explanation was also suggested in regard to the value Australian culture places on sporting achievements.
Many commenters highlighted that while academic prowess could sometimes be a source of ridicule during schooling years, Australian students were, however, encouraged to proudly excel at sports.
The Reddit post lit up with replies from Aussies who argued that higher education was indeed pursued and valued – but that many people ‘keep low key about it’ (stock image)
One commenter said they were ‘made fun of’ at school for being ‘studious and bad at sports’.
Another raised the idea more broadly, writing in part that Australia ‘prizes physical pursuits over intellectual ones’.
However, many were at pains to explain that Australians do indeed hold value in the pursuit of education. The difference, however, is that many Australians are conscious not to show off for being ‘too ‘cluey’ or ‘booksmart’ because it projects an air of being ‘an arrogant a***hole who is far too “up themselves”‘.
‘[T]here are absolutely people around in Australia who enjoy intellectual pursuits, but keep low-key about it,’ read one reply.
‘We have high rates of education, but we hate class distinction,’ explained another response. ‘If people feel like you are using jargon or bigger words than you need to, they will call you on it because they will assume you are putting on airs.’
This also led to commentary about the pervasiveness of ‘tall poppy syndrome’ in Australian society, and how it discouraged those who were intellectually inclined from outwardly expressing these interests.
‘I think a lot of Australian identity is shaped by the tall poppy syndrome and rebellion against elitism, which many Australians tie to intellectualism,’ read part of one longer post.
A financial argument also offered an interesting explanation for the perceived lack of value Australians place on a generalised pursuit of knowledge.
It was observed that Australian culture proudly champions individuals that excel at sports, but is more humble about intellectual excellence
‘Until recently you could get an extremely well-paying job in Australia with minimal, if any, education, mostly through mining. This led to a lot of people dismissing education as pointless, useless and expensive,’ explained one commenter.
Another agreed, writing: ‘I’ve got mates without degrees or school-completion certificates who earn filthy money for mining companies, oil refineries etc.’
‘The ability to earn money – lots of it – is valued much, much more highly than intelligence,’ read part of another reply.
But many commenters felt this attribute was actually something to ‘love’ about Australia, because it meant that ‘unskilled workers can make good money and have a good life’.
‘I think Australia tends to be fairly egalitarian,’ one wrote. ‘So in the same way we don’t look up to intellectual jobs, we don’t look down on trades or manual labour jobs.’
To this point, even the original poster agreed that this was true of Australian society.
Others pointed to the fact that while higher education was free in Sweden, in Australia university attracts huge fees, which has financial implications.
‘Education is much cheaper in Europe. To get it here, you go into debt for a very long time. That means you need to get your money’s worth,’ one explained.
‘Knowledge, for the sake of knowing, doesn’t put food on the table or a roof over your head,’ added another.
Ultimately, many responders surmised that this perceived anti-intellectual attitude held by Australians was probably a result of a combination of factors.
One response reflected: ‘Intellectualism is considered “navel-gazing” – sort of a self-indulgent waste of time. Others have mentioned tall-poppy syndrome, and I think that’s partially true.’
They concluded that this had created a feeling that ‘non-productive’ or ‘non-capitalisable’ styles of educational inquiry were ‘frivolous’.
