Many of us have heard of the controversy in Texas over schoolbooks. However, it seems that the media highlights only the argument between conservatives for American exceptionalism in textbooks and the liberals who are against it.
The problem with the both of these groups’ arguments is that they both imply government mandating what should be taught. It does not matter which side wins in this debate; either way, we are going to have a government cure, which is always worse than the disease. The radical idea of a voluntary solution is never even considered in these debates, i.e. letting the schools decide what curriculum they want to teach and which books they want to use. This issue would never come up in a private society; issues like these only come up when things are not privately owned.
What is taught in schools and all the controversy that comes with it only occurs because the schools are not privately owned. Instead, why not try to fix this controversy with a free market and non-coercive solution? Let the schools decide what books they want to teach, and let the parents decide if they want their child to attend that school to learn from that curriculum. The conservatives should send their kids to the schools that teach the curriculum that they wanted their children to learn, and the liberals, the religious, the atheists, and any other group may do the same. In a private society, schools would be free to teach from any books they please and parents would have the choice to decided weather or not they want their children reading those books. In this solution there is no force, no mandate, and no controversy.
As usual the free market or voluntary solution is overlooked in these debates while people in both parties try to find a government solution. Both sides seem to seek sanction for their side, or “party”, instead of letting the people choose. So instead of turning to government force to solve a problem, why don’t we just peacefully and voluntarily solve it ourselves?