Freedom, Society, and State - Ludwig von Mises Institute

What of the other option of making schooling compulsory
but private? The voucher plan, where students
would be given educational vouchers by the state to be
redeemed at the school of their choosing, is the best
known variant of this option. From the libertarian
point of view the requirement of compulsory education
would clearly render it unacceptable. But one of the
mer its 0 f the program, i tis c omm 0 n I y thought, i s t hat
the voucher would insure education which was responsive
tot h e des ires 0 f the studen t s - - 0 r pa r en t s - - rat her
than the pUbl i c author it ies. Those schools offering
the best educational programs would get the bulk of the
vouchers and thus make the most money. Thus, the compe
tit i on between school s wou ld enhance the qual i ty and
variety of education. This argument is indeed dubious.
It seems unlikely that the state would long permit
vouchers to be redeemed anywhere. Rather, it is
likely that a voucher program would include the stipulation
that the vouchers would be redeemable only at
those schools meet ing certain requirements -- educational
and social -- and/or only at those schools located
in the school district in which one lived. But
wi th such restrictions there would certainly be little
room for educational competition and without such
competition there would ·be little incentive to increase
the quality and variety of their educational
programs.(36)
Libertarians feel that the current system of comp
u Iso r y and s tat e - sup p 0 r ted s c h 0 0 lis i mm 0 r a Ion two
co u n t s • Fir s t, com p u Iso r y s c h 001 in g i s v i ewed a s a
form of involuntary servitude, and second, "free" pub­
I ic education is a violation of the rights of those who
are taxed to pay for it. Further, they believe that a
private voluntary educational system would be able to
funish high quality education at a lower cost than any
alternative.
While the results of voluntary private education
may not be everything that the libertarian expects, the
argument is cogently presented and the proposal strikes
·me as not only feasible but probably desirable as well.
3. OCCUPATIONAL LICENSING
Limiting the number of individuals or groups who
can en t era par tic u I a r fie I d res u Its, I i be r tar ian s
argue, in rigidity, inefficiency, and higher rices.
But, even more importantly, since licensing enta Is the
use of government violence against anyone ende voring
289