Originally Posted by Libertine

You're not just championing ignorance, you're championing the worst kind of ignorance: willful ignorance.

If Joe Sixpack is planning to have a job in ten years, he'd better be working in a sector not susceptible to job losses from outsourcing. Planning that requires some knowledge of the world and the global economy.

If Joe Sixpack ever wants to start his own company, being aware of foreign markets and competition can mean the difference between failure and success.

If Joe Sixpack has family or friends in the military, knowing a bit about the world will help him distinguish between truth and bullshit during the next election, when America is quite likely to still be stuck in Iraq and Afghanistan.

Does Joe Sixpack worry about immigrants taking his job? He might want to be aware of what effects specific government measures would have on immigration, and how those would affect his local job market.

If Joe has absolutely no ambition in life, doesn't mind voting for politicians who harm his interests, and doesn't care about unemployment, then no, knowledge of the world has no benefits for him. Then again, that would make Joe a moron, someone destined to spend his life at the bottom of the barrel.

On the other hand, if Joe does have ambitions and plans in life, then knowledge will definitely help him.

What you appear to be arguing is that Joe has a low-paid job that doesn't require much knowledge, and that Joe therefore doesn't need that knowledge. However, you fail to take into account that Joe likely would prefer to get a better job, for which knowledge actually would be useful or even necessary.