John Stuart Mill was a strong proponent of mandatory education. But he was a vigorous opponent of trying to push students into public schools. The key to his opposition is the key to many people’s support of pushing students into public schools: having students attend public schools is a way to get greater conformity.

What did John suggest? Vouchers, at least for the poor. Many people think of Milton Friedman as the originator of the idea of education vouchers. But the idea is clear in paragraph 13 of On Liberty “Chapter V: Applications.”

Were the duty of enforcing universal education once admitted, there would be an end to the difficulties about what the State should teach, and how it should teach, which now convert the subject into a mere battle-field for sects and parties, causing the time and labour which should have been spent in educating, to be wasted in quarrelling about education. If the government would make up its mind to require for every child a good education, it might save itself the trouble of providing one. It might leave to parents to obtain the education where and how they pleased, and content itself with helping to pay the school fees of the poorer classes of children, and defraying the entire school expenses of those who have no one else to pay for them. The objections which are urged with reason against State education, do not apply to the enforcement of education by the State, but to the State’s taking upon itself to direct that education: which is a totally different thing. That the whole or any large part of the education of the people should be in State hands, I go as far as any one in deprecating. All that has been said of the importance of individuality of character, and diversity in opinions and modes of conduct, involves, as of the same unspeakable importance, diversity of education. A general State education is a mere contrivance for moulding people to be exactly like one another: and as the mould in which it casts them is that which pleases the predominant power in the government, whether this be a monarch, a priesthood, an aristocracy, or the majority of the existing generation, in proportion as it is efficient and successful, it establishes a despotism over the mind, leading by natural tendency to one over the body. An education established and controlled by the State should only exist, if it exist at all, as one among many competing experiments, carried on for the purpose of example and stimulus, to keep the others up to a certain standard of excellence. Unless, indeed, when society in general is in so backward a state that it could not or would not provide for itself any proper institutions of education, unless the government undertook the task: then, indeed, the government may, as the less of two great evils, take upon itself the business of schools and universities, as it may that of joint stock companies, when private enterprise, in a shape fitted for undertaking great works of industry, does not exist in the country. But in general, if the country contains a sufficient number of persons qualified to provide education under government auspices, the same persons would be able and willing to give an equally good education on the voluntary principle, under the assurance of remuneration afforded by a law rendering education compulsory, combined with State aid to those unable to defray the expense.

It is a mistake to see this issue primarily in the US context. Education in the US will probably muddle through, and may improve dramatically either because of technological progress (see my column “The Coming Transformation of Education: Degrees Won’t Matter Anymore, Skills Will”) or in a smaller way, because a Supreme Court ruling weakens the deadening hand of teachers’ unions. What is much more important is for the developing world to shift toward voucher-supported private education rather than trying to fix a public education system in which teachers very frequently fail to show up for work. Effective and inexpensive private education alternatives are springing up in many developing countries that should be encouraged by loosened regulation first and foremost, and by a share of public expenditure on education if possible.

The August 1, 2015 edition of the Economist has a fascinating article on this:

Here are some key passages: