Why, some ask, should the children of the rich get better schooling than those of the poor? Aren't we all "born equal", shouldn't we all get "equal opportunities" for success in life? Shouldn't society therefore, through government, aim to bridge this divide by paying for the schooling of poor children?
There are two distinct arguments that one can make against Public Schooling; one economic and social (the government doesn't do a good job of educating children), and the other philosophical. I will deal with the latter in this argument.
Unfairness of all kinds can be divided into two distinct types: that which results from the Choices of other Humans, and that which results from Nature and its Laws. The first type of unfairness is obvious; you might be murdered by another, or he/she may steal your property. This type can, and should, be remedied by Government. The second type is much larger and more vague. Dumb fortune is one example of this unfairness; one day you could win the lottery, the next you might be struck by lightning. Genetics and inheritance are yet another; you could have the genes of Michael Jordan or Mozart, or you could be short, fat and musically incompetent. You might have affluent, dedicated parents or poor lousy ones. All these phenomena have one thing in common; no human choice is ever involved in creating the situation at hand. When government attempts to remedy this type of unfairness, it necessarily increases the first type, as it must regulate and tax to accomplish this.
Public schooling falls clearly into the second type of Unfairness. When government pays for the education of poor children, it must tax everyone to cover the costs. For those with children, or those who hope to have children, this cost seems only fair. When one makes the choice to pass on his genetic and monetary inheritance by having kids, he/she should have to pay for the consequences of that choice, which include the resources spent raising them. However, having kids is a Choice not an obligation. It is far more Unfair for the childless to have to pay for a Choice they did not make, than for some to have to think carefully about whether they have the resources to raise kids of their own.
For anyone that believes in individual Freedom, any action of government must be subject to the same stringent test: does it preserve or promote freedom or does it impinge upon it. Public schooling certainly fails this test, and therefore I am obligated to oppose it.
