Courier Journal vs. The Bluegrass Institute
After reading the C-J's front page quasi-news article (which belongs on the political assassination page) about The Bluegrass Institute, what's glaringly obvious is the fear both the C-J and government institutions have for the libertarian ideas advanced by them. This makes sense given the monopoly positions enjoyed by both the CJ and government run entities like public schools. The free market is a powerful force when left unchecked -- look at the dwindling number of pages published by the CJ each day. People are voting with their wallets for a better news & entertainment delivery system.
Similarly, I'm sure bureaucrats managing the public school system are equally concerned about being voted out of a job. So rather than debate those with a fresh view as how to better public education, they've chosen to ignore and/or ridicule them. The recently departed Nobel laureate Milton Friedman advanced the same libertarian ideas as The Bluegrass Institute regarding school choice. Would such distinguished scholars as Brent McKim of the JCTA and Lisa Gross in the Ky. Dept. of Education be equally dismissive of him?
Union bosses and government bureaucrats try to mire the school choice debate in facts, figures, and statistics hoping to confuse the public into a state of paralysis. The matter is far more simple -- do we accept the fundamental truth that competition brings about the best in us all, or do we believe that certain persons (such as unionized teachers) and institutions (government schools) should be protected?
No doubt the initial effect on public policy produced by greatest economic treatise ever penned, The Wealth of Nations was limited too. Yet 200 years after publication, Adam Smith's libertarian ideas have delivered unimaginable riches and health to the entire western world. The C-J should congratulate, not condemn the tenacious efforts of those at The Bluegrass Institute for seeking to educate us in ways our government schools cannot.
George Dick
Chairman Libertarian Party of Kentucky
Similarly, I'm sure bureaucrats managing the public school system are equally concerned about being voted out of a job. So rather than debate those with a fresh view as how to better public education, they've chosen to ignore and/or ridicule them. The recently departed Nobel laureate Milton Friedman advanced the same libertarian ideas as The Bluegrass Institute regarding school choice. Would such distinguished scholars as Brent McKim of the JCTA and Lisa Gross in the Ky. Dept. of Education be equally dismissive of him?
Union bosses and government bureaucrats try to mire the school choice debate in facts, figures, and statistics hoping to confuse the public into a state of paralysis. The matter is far more simple -- do we accept the fundamental truth that competition brings about the best in us all, or do we believe that certain persons (such as unionized teachers) and institutions (government schools) should be protected?
No doubt the initial effect on public policy produced by greatest economic treatise ever penned, The Wealth of Nations was limited too. Yet 200 years after publication, Adam Smith's libertarian ideas have delivered unimaginable riches and health to the entire western world. The C-J should congratulate, not condemn the tenacious efforts of those at The Bluegrass Institute for seeking to educate us in ways our government schools cannot.
George Dick
Chairman Libertarian Party of Kentucky
posted by George Conrad Dick at 7:00 AM
2 Comments:
This attitude of the entrenched ‘leadership’ is not shared by a majority of practitioners of education in this state. In the early ‘90s, when I consulted with the KDE to help build what was, at the time, the largest single-entity-owned computer network on the planet and a remarkable leap forward for education in the state, I was amazed by the range of talent and ideas within the very dedicated ranks of Kentucky’s educational institutions. The same is true within most traditional institutions I have observed.
Though few individuals realize, or openly admit, that their suggestions coincide with Libertarian or Free Market ideals, the real stumbling blocks seem to be the weight of tradition and the perception that small changes are quickly absorbed by noise within the system, resulting in no real improvement. Indeed, even the radical addition of communicative technology in the educational system has suffered from this dissolution, yielding only miniscule real results, even as the stage is set for quantum change.
With the institution of education, in particular, there is hope. Since established leadership is not likely to allow systemic change, for reasons of lazy self-preservation and security at least, the primary focus for change should be students. In fact, children start with Free Market ideals, and respond more than adults to discussion of the nature of structure.
Utilizing inexpensive communicative and teaching technologies, like the Internet, and existing programs, such as Junior Achievement, sympathizers of the Free Market should take every opportunity to get out there and prove these concepts to any youth who will respond, before they become the entrenched propagators of tradition.
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