what more-jee, "and i do not think the French were really all that educated when the revolution occured. if anything, they killed off most of the intellectuals." Read this: - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Enlightenment "and i do agree that education is important. but freedom is more important. education is a tool, but freedom is the environment in which the tool can/will work." No. Education may be a tool but freedom then is one of its goals. If it's your way, why did the educational policies since 1990 in Nepal not work? You have to put education first. And I find it funny why it's hard for you guys to see. Take Ukraine, as example. Even though its highly skilled workforce (lotsa doctors, engineers, philosophers and scientists--99% literacy) initially ended up as street vendors [soon after its independence], it now looks to be a promising democracy with institutionalized accountability and checks-and-balances. There's only one thing I can attribute it to: educated population.