Education proceeds ultimately from the patterns furnished by institutions, customs, and laws. Only in a just state will these be such as to give the right education.
(Source: Democracy and Education By John Dewey)
I think the second sentence means that the patterns (=these) will give the right education only in a just state. Did I understand the sentence correctly? Could you please help me clarify it?
I agree with your interpretation.
Re-arranging to avoid the inversion of the verb and subject, and replacing the pronoun with its reference, gives
[The patterns furnished by institutions, customs and laws] will be [such as to give the right education] [only in a just state].
Paraphrasing:
If your country is not fair, then the government, culture and laws will not be the right kind to give a good education.
Or more broadly
Bad government makes bad schools.
[such] [as] [to give]
[of a kind] [that] [gives]
In these synonymous constructions, as, in modern English, takes an infinitival complement (or a modal + infinitive) and that takes a clause with a tensed verb. But such as to is falling out of use. It has a Victorian flavor.
X is such as to Y = X creates/permits/facilitates/makes the conditions that allow Y'ing.
Only in a just state will these be such as to give the right education.
Only in a just state will these create the conditions that allow giving the right education.
