Lets take a look at how various state services may be provided in the absence of government. Education, Roads, Protection, Courts, pollution control, and many other services currently monopolised by the state can not only be provided by the private market, the will be more affordable, less intrusive, and respond to customer needs faster. Education is often a service that people just can’t seem to imagine without the state. But as I hope to demonstrate, the private market can, and will, provide, if only the state got out of the way.
There are many options for offering Education in a voluntary, stateless society. The most basic is the creation of private schools, paid for by students or their parents. Homeschooling, which is growing in popularity even in the current society, is a second clear option. I also think unschooling, which is a relatively new method of learning, is an interesting and viable option. There are of course other options, but one essay is not enough room to cover all of them.
Private schools exist even today, drawing in students who’s parents are dissatisfied with the public school system. Religious and secular schools offer a variety of educational options to students, often at less cost than the public schools. It seems that private schools are only for the rich, and today there is some truth to that. After all, the poor can only afford to pay for school once and, because of taxes, they have to pay for public schools. So those are the schools they use. It’s a given that competition benefits the consumer in every market. Better products, better prices, better service. If schools have to compete to attract students, (and their parents who foot the bill) they have to offer the best, most useful education, in the most interesting manner, at the lowest cost possible. Because schools are focused on attracting students, and on retaining those they have, they must focus on educating the student and meeting his or her needs. To do otherwise is a recipe for failure.
Homeschooling, where the parent is the primary instructor of their own children, has been increasingly popular over the last few decades. A parent can focus on his or her children, and their education, in a way a teacher in a class of 30+ students could never achieve. Think of it as the smallest class size possible. There are vast resources available to help the homeschooling parent. Books, study guides, educational software, and the whole of the Internet can be harnessed to teach. The curriculum can be adjusted to the individual student needs, without disrupting the rest of the ‘class’. If little Johnny is having difficulty with fractions in public school, he’s told to study harder, and the class goes on without him. In a home-school setting, the parent can focus on Johnny’s difficulty with fractions, and move on to more mathematics when he understands the concept.
The last option I’m covering, unschooling, is relatively new. The idea is to allow the student to direct their own learning, while the parent assists with research and guidance. Is little Sally suddenly interested in dinosaurs? Well now is the time to teach as much as she wants to learn about these fascinating animals. Sounds like lessons in Biology, Chemistry, zoology, geology, astrophysics, and climatology can all be focused around this new interest. Again the vast knowledge of the Internet, libraries full of books, and museums can all be used to increase the students knowledge. If needed, private tutors can be hired to teach difficult subjects, often at a very low cost.
We’ve barely scratched the surface of the options available. What about schools offered by charities? How about commercially sponsored schools, Ronald McDonald High School anyone? Scholarships that seek out the best students and pay for them to go to the best schools. Companies that agree to pay for an older students school if they come work for the company when they finish. The possibilities are truly endless
Between private schools, homeschools and unschooling, there is a vast array of possibilities for education in a voluntary society. Best of all, nobody has to be threatened with jail to pay for it. Like all services currently provided by the state, the private market can provide education to everyone. We’ve only scratched the surface of what is available in terms of education, and that’s just what I alone can see. Imagine if you can, what will happen when every person is looking for the best way to provide education. The idea that the best method is to give a small group of people the exclusive power to force everybody to pay them to teach won’t even make the list.
