Sweden, Coming Soon to a Country Near You

[Guest Post by Jeff Perren.]

Anyone interested in realistic projections of where the U.S. is heading in education need only look to Europe, in this case Sweden. The government there is proposing to outlaw homeschooling on the grounds that:

"…the education in school should be comprehensive and objective and thereby designed so that all pupils can participate, regardless of what religious or philosophical reasons the pupil or his or her care-takers may have."

As a result, they argue (in a giant non-sequitur): "[T]here is no need for the law to offer the possibility of homeschooling because of religious or philosophical reasons in the family."

It would be hard to find clearer empirical evidence that the socialist State simply has to ceaselessly indoctrinate individuals as young as possible in order to continue to survive, But pass over that for now. Observe instead the subtle, unstated premise: your convictions are not objective, but those of the State educators necessarily are. No argument beyond pointing it out should be needed to show how false and pernicious that idea is. But that view is particularly ironic given how opposed all Dewey's descendants are, in principle, to objectivity. (It's contrary to the most basic principle of Pragmatism, half of the twin offsprings of the father of Progressive education.)

The various States have long forced American parents to jump through hoops to remove their children from the clutches of the Progressive Comprachicos. Yet, homeschooling in America has still been on the rise (and hence under attack) for years. If current social trends continue here, expect something like this legislation to be introduced at the Federal level within the next 10 years, sooner if ObamaCare is enacted.

[From the January 2, 2010 edition of Shaving Leviathan.]