18 An Introduction to Clearer Thinkingties, any attempt by government to distribute wealth equally
would be unnatural and bound to fail. Private property is the
economic foundation upon which all economic advancement is
based. To tamper with the individual’s right to private property
would be to court economic disaster.
The liberal initially based his economic theory on the concept
of freedom, and favored laissez-faire capitalism. As the inequi
ties of wealth that resulted from unfettered laissez-faire capital
ism became apparent the liberal view changed somewhat. The
role of government became greater in order to limit the economic
power of big businesses and safeguard the “life, liberty, and
property” of the citizenry. Since the liberal sees man as basically
cooperative, the government must restrain the abuses of the few,
to free the majority to cooperate and progress economically. The
concept of the greatest good for the greatest number is operative
in liberal economics as well as in politics.
EDUCATION
Given the conservative’s view of the nature of man, certain
educational premises are forthcoming. The conservative be
lieves in discipline, the primacy of the mind, the need to be a
civilizing influence, and to transmit the cultural heritage. Since
students would choose fun rather than work, discipline is neces
sary in the conservative educational environment. All people
have rationality in varying degrees; reason is essential to human
nature and therefore, all students should be taught to develop
their minds. Students should be prepared to think, work, and
become productive links in the unbroken chain of society.
The liberal believes that a child will choose good over bad and
will not have to be forced to be productive if he is properly
motivated. Also, since there is no mind-body dichotomy, there
can be no primacy of the mind; thus physical, technical, and skill
training exist on an equal footing with activities of the mind. Any
problems which children manifest in the classroom are not
willful acts but can be traced back to the environmental forces of
the home, society, and school. Freedom of expression, experi
mentation, and creativity are encouraged in the liberal educa
tional environment.