“Give me the child until he is seven and I will give you the man.”
Why can’t libertarians “brainwash” kids, too?
We’re at a disadvantage. It’s clear that Democrats and Republicans have been actually brainwashing American kids for years, and kids often initially follow the political views of their parents (even Hillary Clinton was a Goldwater Girl!) Any brainwashing on our part is purely self-defense.
This is why I’m so happy to see this young adult/children’s book written by libertarian economics professor Ken Schoolland promoting the free market and detailing the unfortunate side effects of a more collectivist system. We’re certainly competing against indoctrination from all other political viewpoints, so it’s good to start early and often with lessons on the joys of the free market.
I recently saw an example of how this could work in Rolling Stone, in which Jack Johnson’s friends talked up his efforts on behalf of the environment.:
“Also high on Johnson’s priorities is his dedication to the environment, in particular to preserving the natural beauty of the Hawaiian Islands. In 2003, he and [wife] Kim founded the Kokua Hawaii Foundation to support environmental education in schools. When Johnson performs in school gymnasiums, armed with his songs for the 2006 Curious George soundtrack (which features green-friendly tracks such as “The 3 R’s,” about recycling), madness ensues. ‘We don’t even have a curbside recycling program in Hawaii,’ says Mark Cunningham, a North Shore lifeguard and longtime friend. ‘Convincing adults to lobby down at the state capital is an exercise in futility. So Jack and Kim say, “Hey, let’s brainwash the kids,” but in a sincere and logical way. It’s this incredible awareness they’re raising in a generation of school kids.’”
Why can’t libertarians do the exact same thing (especially since a truly successful environmental program requires a libertarian system)? Ken Schoolland is, coincidentally, also from Hawaii. Libertarians have the unique problem of competing with a mass indoctrination of most children from government workers (AKA teachers who would obviously like to keep their jobs)– and while many libertarians of course don’t want to get rid of public schooling tomorrow or even the next day, many of us would like to institute deep changes within the existing system, from outside it. I found out recently that a neighboring county which was pushing for a land transfer tax even sent home pro-tax literature with all county schoolchildren. That type of widespread government access is extremely difficult to compete with.
However, it would be a mistake on our part to not do this. Just as the humans who didn’t particularly care about reproducing have long since left the earth, it’s necessary for any movement that wants to continue in the future to work on building sustainability over time. I wouldn’t even feel bad about “indoctrinating” the kiddies, since we’d simply be letting them in on facts they should be learning in school– and we do have one definite advantage over the D’s and R’s. No libertarian can yet be accused of being a libertarian solely for the sake of gaining power, as many people seek to do within our current party duopoly.
How about it?
Tags: libertarian brainwashing, Democratic brainwashing, Republican brainwashing, brainwashing kids
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