GDP goes down
I was just thinking this morning that modern states need nerds to be competitive, regardless of what type of state. China during the Cultural Revolution closed all universities for 10 years (apperently), but shielded off nuclear scientists at secluded bases.
So your perception as a kid is completely wrong - math olympiads (wee!), high scores on exams (wee!); none of this is about you.
"World economy" would just as happily make the population illiterate and offload its needs to an advanced AI. And adjacent biomass, it just tries to pay the bills as it always has been.
(Just an improv in your thread).