In his book Illiterate America, Chapter: “The Human Cost of an Illiterate Society.” Jonathan Kozol, argues that illiteracy represents a danger for the living and social conditions of citizens within a community. Kozol claims that illiteracy inhibits a person’s ability to participate in democracy, parenthood, education and social enrichment activities, as illiterates do not have the skills to interpret the world they live in. As the authors suggest illiterates will relay on others to take their own decisions, in a sense, they could be perceived as handicaps of the system.
Kozol posits that although illiterates have the same freedom as the rest of the population, they often will feel constrained by prejudices and will end up isolating themselves