School choice is the free market solution to failing public schools – Washington Examiner

The governments corner on the education market is a common enemy among liberty lovers. Throughout the country, government-funded public school systems are outdated and broken. They push values and ideologies that make parents uncomfortable, they systematically waste taxpayer dollars, and, worst of all, they fail to equip future generations with the tools they need to succeed in the wider world. Even basic literacy has been declining for decades, and children who are behind in reading by third grade may never catch up.

For these reasons, its easy to see why free marketeers such as Clemson professor C. Bradley Thompson, libertarian activist Jacob Hornberger, and Fox Newss Kennedy Montgomery have publicly embraced the idea that public schools should simply be abolished all at once.

But the chances of that happening are slim to none. Every state has a compulsory schooling statute, and eliminating these statutes would be arduous, especially when most parents are satisfied with their childrens education. Believe it or not, parental satisfaction in public schools has remained above 67% over the past two decades, and public school is still the first choice for 41% of parents today.

In short, it isnt politically viable to pursue an agenda of abolishing public education in our current moment (and it may never be so). If free marketeers wish to make a real impact on education in America, theyd do better to embrace educational freedom of all kinds.

Advocating incremental change to improve our K-12 education system by empowering parents with educational choices is a much more popular and effective strategy for freeing students from the failing government schooling apparatus. For example, education savings accounts, which let families use their childs education funds on private education expenses, including tutoring, special needs therapies, and private school tuition, poll at about 75% favorability among parents of various backgrounds.

Yet some libertarians make perfect the enemy of the good by opposing school choice since it does not meet their standards of market competition. Students dont have time for libertarian pipe dreams no matter how just and right they may be. Children and their families dont care that education savings accounts arent the perfect market solution. Theyll settle for the boosts to test scores, civic values, and educational attainment that all stem from the opportunity to choose an academic environment that suits them best.

Furthermore, free marketeers who oppose school choice havent looked deeply enough into their own philosophy. Adam Smith himself observed in The Wealth of Nations that for a very small [expense] the [public] can facilitate, can encourage, and can even impose upon almost the whole body of the people, the necessity of acquiring those most essential parts of education [to read, write, and account].

In essence, Smith believed that universal education was of the utmost importance, as it would offset the harmful effects of the division of labor. It was the responsibility of any prosperous society to ensure that workers and elites alike had access to at least some form of learning.

However, Smith was careful to note that education should be a partnership between public authorities and the market because if [the teacher] was wholly, or even principally paid by [the government], he would soon learn to neglect his business. Smith wasnt alone either. Other classical liberal or free market theorists such as Thomas Paine, John Stuart Mill, Milton Friedman, David Friedman, and James Buchanan recognized the positive role government financing can play in promoting parental choice in education.

Liberty is rarely expanded in one fell swoop. It is a long march that takes time, effort, and persistence. Libertarians should continue to follow these theorists lead and unite with a public thats open to reforming a broken system. Libertarians could help students and their families by embracing incremental educational choice reform. The future of American education requires innovation, and educational freedom can improve the educational system immediately while also upholding free market ideals.

Garion Frankel (@FrankelGarion) is a graduate student at Texas A&M Universitys Bush School of Government and Public Service and a Young Voices contributor. Cooper Conway (@CooperConway1) is a national voices fellow at 50CAN and a Young Voices contributor.