Dummy farm

Socialized education not only fails its constituency miserably — witness today’s utterly uneducated, and essentially ineducable, masses. As this article at Chicago Boyz aptly points out, it and its class allies also constantly sing a refrain blaming the very imbecility of the supposedly brainless proletariat, and its easy manipulation by The Man (currently embodied by President Monkey), for every political and electoral ill (i.e., election of a Republican, for starters) visited on the commonwealth:

This rant ascribes motivations to the right but the belief that capitalism wants a mindless populace seems not just elitist but stupid. What time warp are they in that they believe modern manufacturers are best served by automatons or service businesses by self-absorbed, illiterate clerks?

Given the monopolistic politics of America’s teacher’s colleges, this seems a bit disingenuous. But it is a lack of imagination, a lack of self-consciousness – indeed, a lack of intelligence. . . .

This is a nice point, though I would extend the concept of “monopolistic politics” to the entire education establishment, including teachers’ unions and public school boards. But the heart of the argument is very powerful: Who is it that keeps pumping out this unskilled, obese and civically unengaged cannon fodder of the military industrial complex, at an ever-increasing price? It is this very monopoly.

Many conservatives believed, at some time in the past 20 years, that major tax reform would take place during their lifetimes. It is clear that will never happen, short of revolution. Public education reform is every bit as onerous a task, and no less important for this country’s future. Both projects require, if there is any hope of success, complete destruction of the existing systems, and both face insuperable political and institutional obstacles.

It’s getting to be that being conservative, and really thinking about these issues, is pretty radical.

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