Adam Smith on Public Schools

In 1776, Adam Smith noted in "The Wealth of Nations" the effect of spending public money on education.

You can read the chapter at
http://tinyurl.com/2tfoxn
Hit "Ctrl-F" and type in "article ii."

Category:

Education

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• economics
• laissez-faire
• public
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• ron
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[londubh2007]

There is a point here? My ex-wife use to say that some people would drone on and on and never come to a point. She'd say "land the plane." And you never landed the plane.

[boing3887]

cont.

"The public can facilitate this acquisition by establishing in every parish or district a little school, where children may be taught for a reward so moderate that even a common labourer may afford it... ...In Scotland...such parish schools has taught almost the whole common people to read, and...to write and account. In England the establishment of charity schools has had an effect of the same kind, though not so universally, because the establishment is not so universal."

Book 5 ch 1.3

[boing3887]

"But though the common people cannot, in any civilised society, be so well instructed as people of some rank and fortune, the most essential parts of education, however, to read, write, and account, can be acquired...

...For a very small expense the public can facilitate, can encourage, and can even impose upon almost the whole body of the people the necessity of acquiring those most essential parts of education." book V ch. 1 part 3

[pdaniels9000]

Adam Smith says in his book that he believes towns should have a property tax which ensures the education of all children.

Sure private education might potentially lower prices, but how is it going to make sure that all children are educated?

[utubehayter]

Ayn Rand was no libertarian, she herself had rejected the libertarian idea as "Hippies of the right".

[Xtro2005]

Hell, Smith himself met resistance IIRC. What we should have learned from the 19th and 20th Centuries was that Socialism in most forms is truly a social poison. It's efforts to help those it values most trickles down and capillary actions up the social latter, often causing more damage than good. The government really needs to stay the hell out of people's lives.

[Xtro2005]

The similarities in thinking of Adam Smith and Booker T. Washington on the issue of economy and race are rather interesting.

[Xtro2005]

One could very well say Marx, Engels and the rest of their ilk throughout history were reactionary. You could probably generalize the issue and say that ALL socialist movements past and present are reactionary.

[Xtro2005]

What Smith really wanted to convey about schools was that Professors had become indolent do to tenure. He surmised that this was the cause of the relevancy of the "Scottish Renaissance" in the midst of British intellectual decline. One might postulate that this decline was what brought about the rise in socialist thought trickling in from the east.

[xilluminatorx]

Wanting education for all economic brackets is in no way supporting public education. As a matter of fact principles of capitalism represented in this book demonstrate that with competition in private enterprise will lower costs as to profit from all levels of society.