It’s no secret that the state’s domination of education has resulted in widespread economic ignorance. Thankfully, an increasing number of students and families are escaping the public education system to pursue private alternatives and homeschooling. On Saturday, September 12, the Mises Institute met at the Westin Poinsett in Greenville, South Carolina, to discuss why government schools don’t teach sound economics. Mises Institute scholars Tate Fegley, Paul Cwik, Mark Thornton, Jonathan Newman, and Peter Klein spoke at the event, emphasizing the various failures of state-administered education and the prospects for countering it.
Tate Fegley opened with “Don’t Bite the Hand: Why Public Schools Can’t Afford to Teach Economics,” examining the incentives facing government schools and why bureaucratic educational institutions are inherently unlikely to teach certain economic ideas. Paul Cwik followed with “Four Secrets the Public Schools Keep from You,” discussing the poor quality of government education and homeschooling as the best alternative. His talk stressed the importance of parental involvement in their children’s education and the possibilities created by homeschooling, co-ops, and other forms of educational choice.
Mark Thornton presented “Your Kids Are Already Communists, and College Will Make It Worse,” which addressed the economic and ideological assumptions students encounter in school. Jonathan Newman’s “What They Don’t Teach You in Government Schools” focused on economic myths and state narratives in standard curricula. He pointed out that there are excellent educational antidotes available for free through the Mises Institute and the Mises Academy. Peter Klein concluded with “AI and the Future of the University,” which considered how artificial intelligence is reshaping higher education.
In the panel discussion, the speakers answered questions from the audience, including questions about countering Keynesian myths, potential state-level reforms of the education system, and what a free market in education would look like.
Throughout the event, a recurring theme emerged: Economic understanding is the antidote to state power. A healthy skepticism toward government intervention requires a solid grasp of economics, and we obviously cannot trust the state to teach sound economic principles.
You can listen to these talks at mises.org/sc26.
