School's Out For Ever

I have written an “expert comment” for the latest issue of the magazine Education World arguing for the closure of the entire government education system. You can access the article here. The article ends with the following words:

“The government school system is a burden. It is a colossal waste of time, money and effort and weighs heavily on the shoulders of poor children. They need a short cut to the market, not the long road to a high school diploma.”

I do not see any role for The State in education – and especially not so in the education of poor children. Indeed, I am of the firm opinion that all education provided by The State, both to the rich as well as the poor, from primary school right up to a PhD programme at the Delhi School of Economics, is harmful for the mind.

There is Amartya Sen on their side.

There is me on the other.

Amartya Sen holds that India’s economic development is hampered by the ignorance of the poor.

I hold that the poor possess useful knowledge and that economic freedom is all that is required to enable them to survive in a liberated market order. That is, The State is The Problem.

Which side are you on, dear reader?

Think about it the next time you pay Manmohan’s “education tax.”

And talking about taxation: I just paid a hefty 12 per cent VAT on a dinner at a restaurant last night. Where does all this money go? Would we all not be better off if taxes were low, if we could conserve our capital and invest it (for the long-term benefit of the poor)?

This, in brief, is the Libertarian Project: a government reduced to its only essential functions – building roads and administering justice. Such a government can happily be run with zero taxation if all PSUs are sold off and the public treasure used to fund these basic tasks of government.

Remember, dear reader, that you are a taxpayer. We all are in a regime of indirect taxes. Even the poor pay these taxes (and the inflation tax). There is only one way out of this taxation – and that is to reduce the size and scope of The State.

So say “No” to education.

Say “No” to the education tax.

Say “No” to Arjun Singh and the Ministry of Human Resource Destruction.

Song of the day: Alice Cooper’s “School’s Out”.