Chapter 3
Liberty
Introduction
One enjoyable, though probably fruitless, way to spend an after-
noon would be to discuss which is the most prominent or import-
ant political value, which ideal carries most clout in political
debates – in public bars or parliaments. Candidate values might
include justice (more particularly, human rights or equality), dem-
ocracy, and certainly, liberty. It is hard to think of a political mani-
festo that does not trumpet the prospect of liberty – and it is easy
to think of fractious political disputes where freedom^1 is a con-
tender on both sides of the issue. Freedom in education requires
the provision of educational opportunity for all, free at the point
of service, some say; others, that it signals the parents’ freedom to
choose the education they judge best for their child. These differ-
ent aspirations may collide if resources do not permit them both to
be fulfilled.