Education: Free and Compulsory

What is it about today's school system that so many find unsatisfactory? Why have generations of reformers failed to improve the educational system, and, indeed, caused it to degenerate further and further into an ever declining level of mediocrity?

In this radical and scholarly monograph, Murray N. Rothbard identifies the crucial feature of our educational system that dooms it to fail: at every level, from financing to attendance, the system relies on compulsion instead of voluntary consent. In contrast, a market-based system of schools would adhere to a purely voluntary ethic, financed with private funds, and administered entirely by private enterprise.

This audiobook is made available through the generosity of Mr. Tyler Folger. It is narrated by Graham Wright.

The full text is available online here.

Download the complete audiobook (17 MP3 files) here.

This audiobook is also available on Soundcloud, Apple Podcasts, via RSS, and in .M4B format.