Purely theoretically, and without taking context into account, the slogan “Study well, so that you can live well” doesn’t raise any major objections. But it does require clarification. What exactly does “study well” mean—what should one study, and what is the purpose of studying? And on the other hand, what does “living well” really mean?
In the Soviet Union, for example, warehouse managers and tsekhoviks (illegal factory operators) “lived well.” The former stole state property and sold it at market prices, while the latter ran underground workshops (say, making shoes) and sold their products through black market channels. Both groups, naturally, were closely connected with corrupt state officials. I once saw a tsekhovik stoke a barbecue fire with a 25-ruble note. That was his idea of “living well.” And to achieve that, one certainly didn’t need to do well at school or excel at university. Or do we mean something else when we say “study well”?
Post-Soviet, including Armenian, oligarchs—who became wealthy through shady privatizations, tax evasion, and currying favor with those in power—also don’t possess exceptional knowledge in any particular field. Although some of them do have a certain business instinct. For them, “living well” means having powerful “protectors,” residing in castle-like mansions, and so on.
Even the ruling party’s MPs are not known for their intellect, although some have attended “activism” seminars in the West, where they were taught about the sources of evil in the world and how to fight both internal and external enemies. With that rather modest toolkit, they have managed to “stock up” quite a bit—accumulating property, apartments, and other assets—in just seven years.
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But surely the goal of a person shouldn’t be “living well” in that sense. A person’s mission is to serve, to dedicate themselves—often at the expense of comfort. I fear that the “good life” promoted by the authorities fits neatly into the framework of prevailing hedonism.
Personally, I find the motto “Become an educated person so that you can be useful to your fellow human beings” far more meaningful.
Aram ABRAHAMYAN
