To Restore American Liberty, We Need Colleges that Actually Teach the Liberal Arts

Collectivists of many stripes—but one aim—have been eating away at our free society for over one hundred years.

If we want to reverse America’s current slide into authoritarianism and actively move towards a fully free society, we need to be as clear about our goals as the collectivists have been about theirs. And theirs have always been power and control—to that end, ingeniously using indoctrination masquerading as education.

To counter this, our educational goal should be to vigorously nurture that autonomous, active minority in every profession who are capable of being society’s change agents and who are entrepreneurial. It is this active minority who change societies everywhere—the Medici in Renaissance Florence, the U.S. Founders, and Cobden and Bright in the U.K.

In that effort, the greatest guardian of liberty is autonomy because autonomous people do not tolerate being ruled. Free human beings recognize each other’s sovereignty and seek to persuade others and trade with others as equals, rejecting the force that collectivists use when they can’t persuade.

We need a college (colleges!) specifically dedicated to nurturing autonomous individuals who are well-schooled in the values of reason, individualism, and freedom. We have to keep in laser focus: What kind of education helps young people learn how to live in freedom? To develop autonomy? To discover how to be entrepreneurs of their own lives?

This is why I’m working to open Reliance College in 2024. We want Reliance students to enter the world as self-reliant individuals. We’ll endow them with a rich portfolio of knowledge and skills, and build a portfolio of work, so they can plan and succeed in the lives they imagine for themselves, able to overcome any obstacles and adversities that stand in their way.

Too late.

3 year degrees. Four years is valuable time wasted. Allowing a 16-year old to take/ pass a GED test will do plenty for the impatient go-getters amongst us. Government pays for STEM courses at the same rate humanities tuition is priced.

It used to be that when you went to college you had general requirements to complete your degree. When I was in college, the options were slim. There were no 'studies" or 'hyphenated' courses. Everyone had to take English Comp and Public Speaking, some History, and psuedo-sciences (sociology, psychology, anthropology, etc.) and some kiddie mathematics if it math was not part of your major.

That's better than today, but it could be better. First, eliminate all "studies" programs. They do not consist of rigorous college level work and they do not provide anyone with any knowledge that allows them to contribute to society. Second, eliminate all education degrees. They are pure propaganda courses than any moron can take. (Read that as most teachers in America - they have no business being anywhere near children.) Third, make more general requirements non-elective. Make courses on the US Constitution, US History, World History, Rhetoric, Logic, Calculus and Statistics mandatory for every student to graduate.

Everyone that graduates college should be able to read, write and speak English. They should also be able to make an argument (rhetoric) that consists of sound reasoning (logic). Lastly, every graduate should be mathematically and statistically proficient. That is fundamental to communicating and understanding nearing everything in the 21st century.

Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.