I thought you stood for equality?
You misunderstood me. I specifically said that in case of conflict between equality and liberty, I chose liberty.
Private schools are not elitist? Are you claiming that a democratically elected government is elitist?
Any government is elitist by its very nature, because it consists of a few people who impose on the vast majority of others their own views on economics and society, on the presumed idea that they are better qualified than the people at large to do just that. With regards to education, I know nothing more elitist than to say "Hey, Joe, look!, since you're a plumber and as such not quite qualified to know what your children need to learn and how, nor do you have the time to busy yourself with their education, and even if you had you wouldn't be able to do it properly, you must let ourselves, enlightened and benevolent men of the government as we are, do it. What they learn and how is our sole business and believe us, it is so for their own good."
(And that applies not exclusively to homeschooling --- which for the record I'm not quite supportive of, except in extremely fortunate circumstances, but if the parents so wish, it is nobody's else business and least of all the state's, except in cases of abuse and misconduct on the part of the parents. I can bet that, given the most complete freedom of options, most parents would still choose to send their kids to school, only this time they will have complete control on what school they wish their kids to attend --- but that, of course, would spell ruin to all the educational bureaucracy whose only
raison d'etre is to manage, control, supervise and influence the whole educational process nationwide, and to all those teachers who are not accountable to anyone but their own trade unions, and that's already too much vested interests that stands in the way of educational freedom.)
I do not think it is advantageous for education. It would promote anarchy as well as a lack of education. You would get localized flavors reaching from extreme creationism to extreme atheism, from complete scientific illiteracy to science geeks.
So what?
It seems like you want everybody, everywhere, to learn exactly the same things, in exactly the same way, thus ultimately leading to everybody everywhere thinking alike. That is educational totalitarianism, nay, it is totalitarianism, period.
You accuse me of not being a true liberal yet all your posts imply that government should do that, government should do this, government should provide, government should see to it that, government should and would... Government should do nothing but let people live their lives as they see fit as long as they don't infringe upon the equal right of others to do the same. I'm sorry but I can't go any more liberal than that --- and it is not my fault that always and everywhere governmental power went far beyond its natural limits. In this respect a democratically elected government makes no difference; it is immaterial to me that I am patronized by, and have my life ruled by, one, a few or the majority. And actually, against a tyrant or against a self-appointed oligarchy there is always the appeal of reason, justice and conscience that can condemn their conduct, while against democracy there is no such appeal, because the democratic dogma is exactly that whatever the majority decides and enacts is
ipso facto reasonable and just and woe to any heretic who doesn't subscribe to it.
