Education, Free & Compulsory (1999) by Murray N. Rothbard, Book Review

 Education, Free & Compulsory (1999) by Murray N. Rothbard, audiobook

Murray N. Rothbard, an influential American historian, natural law theorist, and economist of the Austrian School who helped define modern libertarianism*, in this short book (66 pages only and audiobook 2 hours 35 minutes), explores the history of compulsory schooling in Europe and especially in the United States. I find that the main ideas and concerns in this book are interesting although I have to keep in mind that my context is Asia or Malaysia in particular not Western countries. But it seems that, in terms of education, we almost always facing the same problem: our educational system, if not seriously reformed, is doomed to fail. For the past few weeks, I’ve been listening to an excellent podcast series by BFM radio called Malaysia’s Education Challenges with a focus on Malaysia’s Education Blueprint (MEB). As I reflect on what has been discussed in this series and Rothbard’s thoughts in this book, I cannot help but agree that we should seriously rethink public schooling. More than ever I observe that our educational system, instead of for the betterment of individuals and communities, has become very burdensome for the students, parents, and teachers and continues to be used to impose political, racial, and religious agendas or ideologies. Through the misuse of formal education, dictatorship can be disguised as democracy. Beware!

There are three (3) short but powerful chapters in this book, namely, 1) The Individual’s Education; 2) Compulsory Education in Europe; 3) Compulsory Education in the United States. There are half-a-dozen ideas that are worth considering such as the importance of individual or homeschooling, the function of the parents and the state (government) in child education, the history and philosophy of compulsory education, the shadow of ‘citizen control’, the influence of religious (particularly by Calvinism in Europe) reformation, the demons of Fascism, Nazism, and Communism. There are things that I don’t agree with, don’t understand, and don’t care much about. The most essential read, in my opinion, is the first half of Chapter 1: The Individual’s Education because regardless of our context and background, race and nationality, it deals with our universal human need and uniqueness. Rothbard writes:

“[The] entire process of growing up, of developing all the facets of a man’s personality, is his education. It is obvious that a person acquires his education in all activities of his childhood; all his waking hours are spent in learning in one form or another. It is clearly absurd to limit the term ‘education’ to a person’s formal schooling. He is learning all the time. He learns and forms ideas about other people, their desires, and actions to achieve them, the world and the natural laws that govern it; and his own ends, and how to achieve them. He formulates ideas on the nature of man, and what his own and others’ ends should be in light of this nature. This is a continual process, and it is obvious that formal schooling constitutes only an item in this process. In a fundamental sense, as a matter of fact, everyone is ‘self-educated.’ A person’s environment, physical or social, does not ‘determine’ the ideas and knowledge with which he will emerge as an adult. It is a fundamental fact of human nature that a person’s ideas are formed for himself; others may influence them, but none can determine absolutely the ideas and values which the individual will adopt or maintain through life.”

If you’re interested to dive further into this subject, you can get this ebook and audiobook for FREE at https://mises.org/library/education-free-and-compulsory-1 #ServeToLead #LeadersAreReaders #LetsMakeReadingCoolAgain

*Libertarianism: a political philosophy that advocates only minimal state intervention in the free market and the private lives of citizens.

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THINK BIG. START SMALL. GO DEEP.

 

Timothy, Our God Saviour Wants All Men to Be Saved (1 Timothy 2:3-4)

“I urge, then, first of all, that requests, prayers, intercession and thanksgiving be made for everyone – for kings and all those in authority, that we may live peaceful and quiet lives in all godliness and holiness. This is good, and pleases God our Saviour, who wants all men to be saved and to come to a knowledge of the truth”

(1 Timothy 2:1-4, NIV).

Honestly, when I pray so often the material and physical needs come first (recall prayer requests during prayer meeting you attended lately). The early Christians certainly had reason to pray for their physical safety and for their material needs. However, in praying for those in authority, verse 4 demonstrates that which is important to God – was important to Paul – and should have priority in our prayers, namely, for their salvation.  Of course we should pray for wisdom for governmental leaders that they will be kept from temptations of bribery, rule justly and other temptations which are uniquely theirs. But most important of all, we should pray for their salvation. Not just their but also for “everyone” or “all men.”

Here we read, “God our Saviour, who wants all men to be saved.” Question: Why today aren’t all men saved? Can’t God do anything He wants? Some Bible translations translated “wants” to “will” and “desires.” The word “desires” (thelo) is the best translation in context here. God desires all men to be saved. God’s wish or desire just like in 2 Peter 3:9, God “not wanting anyone to parish.” Not that all men will eventually be saved someday (I don’t believe in universalism) but it simply stating God’s desire. God is not a God who force salvation on anyone. God through Jesus Christ has provided salvation for all, He desires all men to be saved, but the choice is ours to receive or reject His Son. You see, Jesus Christ is ultimately that “knowledge of the truth.”

When we pray for leaders (and anyone else) for their salvation, we are praying in the will of God and it will be “good and pleases God.” During Paul’s time, Roman emperor was called saviour. In contrast to the saviour of the Roman emperor is the Christian’s saviour – “God our Saviour.” For the Romans, the emperor might be a saviour in the sense of providing temporal security and prosperity, but for Christians – Jews, Romans and Gentiles believers alike – only God can provide eternal salvation. So pray, pray and tell, pray and live, pray and share, pray and preach the Gospel! “This is good, and pleases God our Saviour, who wants all men to be saved and to come to a knowledge of the truth”

May God’s desire be done. Amen.

THINK BIG. START SMALL. GO DEEP.

Timothy, Pray Especially for Governmental Authority that Persecuted You (1 Timothy 2:1-2)

“I urge, then, first of all, that requests, prayers, intercession and thanksgiving be made for everyone – for kings and all those in authority, that we may live peaceful and quiet lives in all godliness and holiness”

(1 Timothy 2:1-2, NIV).

The apostle Paul first urged Timothy and the church to pray “for everyone.” This, I think, doesn’t mean that everyone on earth is to be mentioned individually name-by-name, nor it mean a general, all-inclusive kind of prayer. Not too details I guest and not too general but be specific in prayer. This also mean that all of us –believers and not-yet-believers – come under the umbrella of intercessory prayer. As I write this, someone(s) is praying for me! Thank you.

This is the hard part. A specific order is given here to pray for governmental authority – “for kings and all those in authority.” That covers every government officials from the highest to the lowest. Paul, throughout his epistles, proclaimed that God is absolutely sovereign! This mean that, for reasons I might not necessary like or know, He has placed government leaders in their place, even the ‘bad’ ones (Think Malaysia). Historically, when this letter was written Roman Emperor Nero was on the throne. I assumed if Paul and all the faithful Christians who were persecuted (even martyrs) by the religious authorities and government leaders for preaching the Gospel could pray for them especially the brutal Nero, surely, we should and ought to pray for our government leaders no matter what political party they might be! Because of the persecution they were experiencing, it would have been easy and logical for Christians to allow hate to come into their hearts. But Paul knew – Jesus exemplified and taught him – that the best counterfeit for hate is love in a form of prayer. If you pray for your enemies, you’ll learn to love them.

What are the aims for such prayer? Paul wrote “that we may live peaceful and quiet lives in all godliness and holiness.” This desire was very real to the early Christians because of their suffering at the hands of the government. In Malaysia, we may not suffer physically like those during Timothy’s time but for sure economically we’re suffered (even that is not close to anything the word suffering imply in the Bible). As Malaysian Christians, we face only little persecutions especially Sarawakian Christians. So far we are quiet safe and peaceful. This we shouldn’t take for granted and thank God for it. But on the other hand, we as Malaysians are facing embarrassment and injustice mainly due to our government leaders. Let’s pray especially for our Prime Minister and the government officials. Let’s pray for our spiritual leaders as well.

Pray for our leaders and soon you’ll learn to love them too. I’m trying. This doesn’t mean that we affirmed their bad conducts and never have to voice our concerns and fight for justice, no! Of course not, remember Micah 6:8. It simply mean that when we pray for them, we learn to love them as individuals as how God sees them, us. Remember this: “our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms” (Ephesians 6:12 and from verse 13 to 20 are all about prayer). This is a spiritual warfare, pray! 

Lord, may we live peaceful and quiet lives in all godliness and holiness. Amen.

THINK BIG. START SMALL. GO DEEP.