Passage Summary: If people aren't educated, the country will be weak. If people are educated, the government spends money on schools. Therefore, if the government spends money on schools, the country won't be weak.

Conclusion: Any nation with a government committed to education will avoid economic and political weakness.

Reasoning: A lack of education leads to national weakness, and nations with educated populations have governments that spend heavily on public education.

Analysis: The economist is guilty of a 'Mistaken Negation' and a 'Mistaken Reversal' mashup. They say 'No Education -> Weak' (which means 'Not Weak -> Education') and 'Education -> Spending.' They then incorrectly conclude that 'Spending -> Not Weak.' This assumes that because spending follows from education, spending is enough to guarantee the benefits of education. Look for a parallel flaw where someone assumes that a side effect of a necessary condition is enough to guarantee the outcome.