num_pages: 364
description: "Unless popular myths about capitalism are challenged, school reform will stall well short of success."—Introduction to Education &amp; Capitalism "This is a thoughtful, thorough examination of the virtues of capitalism &amp; free markets as a way to organize elementary &amp; 2ndary education in a democracy."—Milton Friedman, Senior research fellow, Hoover Institution &amp; Nobel Prize winner in economics For parents, teachers, policymakers, taxpayers &amp; scholars who want better schools for children regardless of their race, social background or parents' income, this book asserts that, if schools were privatized (moved from the public to the private sector), they could once again do a superior job providing K-12 education. Drawing on insights &amp; findings from history, psychology, sociology, political science &amp; economics, the authors reveal: Why schools &amp; past efforts at school reform have failed. Why capitalism can be trusted to produce safe &amp; effective schools—&amp; why economics is an appropriate tool for studying how schooling is delivered. What history tells us about the government's role in schooling—&amp; why keeping most schooling in the hands of government doesn't help achieve equality &amp; democracy. How guidelines for voucher programs that protect the poorest &amp; most vulnerable members of society otherwise work as well as their proponents predict. Why conservatives &amp; libertarians should support school voucher programs. The authors show that, unless popular myths about capitalism are challenged, school reform will stall well short of success. Without a broader understanding of how &amp; why markets work, the small steps in the right direction taken at the end of the 20th century risk being swept away at the start of the 21st.
language: English
title: Education and Capitalism: How Overcoming Our Fear of Markets & Economics Can Improve America's Schools
titlecomplete: Education and Capitalism: How Overcoming Our Fear of Markets & Economics Can Improve America's Schools
genres: Economics, Education
ratings_count: 7
publisher: Hoover Institution Press