Gary North has an interesting article (from 2001) on the history and future of education. North’s tracks three stages of economic theory which he applies to education. These are: oligarchic/autarchic, the democratic, and the individualistic stages.
In the oligarchic stage only the children of the rich afford an education.
In the democractic stage, the rich are still privately educated but the poor and middle class are educated as a group, in public education. We have been at this stage in America for nearly 200 years. But North doesn’t think we will be at this stage very long.
North sees the rise of the Internet as the key that will enable the move from the democratic stage of education to the individualistic. Free market forces will make this happen. Education will become very cheap and the best will be available to all.
North sees this as the stage where parents get back their children from the state which currently does the eduction. This is when parents can transmit their values to their children rather than the values of the state.
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