I'm quite intrigued by the part of this thread discussing tests or qualifications to vote (regardless of age). I am not sure that any such thing would be practically possible but changes to the school curriculum could be. It would be hard to remove political bias but a compulsory subject designed to help someone by the age of 16 to be able to disseminate different parties' policies and claims would probably make the average 16 year old more 'qualified' to vote than half the current 18+ population. A few ideas for inclusion in this new subject:
1. Learn about the causes of war eg WW1 when the balance of power was lost between heavily militarised nations that wanted to empire build and believed winning was possible (rather than a level of mutual destruction) and WW2 which had its roots in how the WW1 victors forgot to win the peace and almost all wars when militant bully nations are not stood up to at the first opportunity (eg Hitler and Putin)
2. Learn about the Holocaust and the events leading up to it as the example of what any form of racism, discrimination, persecution and intolerance can lead to.
3. Economics: Not full on economic theory but to deliver some basic understanding of inflation, interest rates, gov borrowing etc
Obviously not an exhaustive list but surely more useful than learning about Tudors and battle dates in history or simultaneous equations in maths. The objective of creating a more educated and aware electorate must be worth pursuing.
1. Learn about the causes of war eg WW1 when the balance of power was lost between heavily militarised nations that wanted to empire build and believed winning was possible (rather than a level of mutual destruction) and WW2 which had its roots in how the WW1 victors forgot to win the peace and almost all wars when militant bully nations are not stood up to at the first opportunity (eg Hitler and Putin)
2. Learn about the Holocaust and the events leading up to it as the example of what any form of racism, discrimination, persecution and intolerance can lead to.
3. Economics: Not full on economic theory but to deliver some basic understanding of inflation, interest rates, gov borrowing etc
Obviously not an exhaustive list but surely more useful than learning about Tudors and battle dates in history or simultaneous equations in maths. The objective of creating a more educated and aware electorate must be worth pursuing.