20/11/2004 4:37:22 pm
The Socialist Class Society. Walking along the icy streets of Stockholm I remembered two other more or less bizarre arguments from the debate yesterday on higher education:
1. We must keep the government monopolies, because otherwise it won?t be possible to study topics for which there is no demand in society. So we need the tax-financed education monopoly because I shall be able to learn things that nobody will pay me for in the future?
2. We need an education system and an academy that is truly independent and free. Yes, indeed we do. But when the government has the total power over the universities, that is an extremely dependent and unfree system.
This is more than a discussion about education. It is about society as a whole and what principles it should be founded upon. The classic European Conservatives never minded whether everyone got a true chance in life. The Socialists care about that, but they don?t want anyone to benefit from taking the chance. They punish success and reward passive "need". They have created a new class society where ability doesn?t matter. The opposite of both these is a free society where you get a chance and get to keep the result of your efforts. Paying extra for your education today and getting a good salary - that isn?t taxed away - in the future is an example of an option we should have.


The main building of the Stockholm School of Economics, started almost 100 years ago by Swedish enterprise - privately owned, run and financed, but under increased government control. Its importance for Swedish prosperity can hardly be exaggerated.