Inventing the New Conservatism: Education

We conservatives are running around wondering what the new conservatism means.  And we at Road to the Middle Class are doing our part. You can read the latest effort here.  It’s a riff on David Cameron’s speech in Manchester on co-operatives.

The transplant American Janet Daley was listening to David Cameron too, and she’s just as jazzed as we are.  The argument that is slowly emerging into mainstream politics in this post-Clinton and post-Blair age is a big one.

It is nothing less than the question of who should have the real power in a free society - a government elected by the people, or the people themselves through their own direct agency.

Up to now it’s all been about generalities.  The pundits in their helpful way have been yelling for specifics and accusing Cameron of being a lightweight. 

But now we are seeing specifics, starting with education.  In the Cameron plan,

You and your neighbours who are fed up with inadequate local schools could band together and form a cooperative to open a school (or take over an existing one), and lay claim to the funding allowance which the state provides for the education of your children to finance it.

The argument against the plan, of course, is an old one.  It’s the paternalist pat on the head.  All very well for you, old sport, but what about the people who don’t have the ability to take advantage of the new system?  What about the people left behind?

What about those who will not, or cannot, take up the offer of real power because they are indifferent or benighted or so disadvantaged that the challenge is more than they can comprehend? Surely there must be uniform provision of schooling by the state precisely to balance this inequitable distribution of parental concern?

The answer is a simple one.

The point about community "cooperative" power is that not everybody has to participate actively for everybody to benefit from it.

It’s the same as consumer power in business.  You do not have to be a genius yourself to make cars or iPods or houses.  You can rely on other people to do that.  But the benefit of their work comes to you in the form of low prices and high quality, not to mention the rank-and-file jobs that are available to average people.

And, let us not forget, if you don’t like it you can get your money back.  Now there’s a concept!

So it could be in education and other social questions.  Activist parents and social entrepreneurs will set up the new institutions.  Average bears like you and me can then come along and take advantage of their work.

That’s not so hard is it?