According to the Merriam Webster Dictionary (www.meriam-webster.com):

Free government permits them to do it.

Liberal education enables them to do it.”

Stringfellow Barr, Co-founder of St. John’s College Great Books program, 1941

In Andrew’s post on Jacob Klein, he briefly quotes Scott Buchanan’s essay [...]]]> “Tyrants forbid citizens to do their duty as free men.

Free government permits them to do it.

Liberal education enables them to do it.”

Stringfellow Barr, Co-founder of St. John’s College Great Books program, 1941

In Andrew’s post on Jacob Klein, he briefly quotes Scott Buchanan’s essay entitled “The Last Don Rag.” Drawing on the St. Johns tradition of don rags, a discussion with your tutors (professors) regarding a specific text or idea, the essay (speech) is a serious of questions. I have yet to find a more compelling call for the role of education as it relates to a free society:

“Have you recognized that you are and always have been your own teacher? Amidst all the noise and furor about education in this country at present, I have yet to hear this question raised. But it is basic. Liberal education has as its end the free mind, and the free mind knows that he knows nothing, and then goes on to add: I know what it is that I don’t know. My question then is: Do you know what you don’t know and therefore what you should know? If your answer is affirmative and humble, then you are your own teacher, you are making your own assignment, and you will be your own best critic. You will not need externally imposed courses, nor marks, nor diplomas, nor a nod from you boss….in business or politics.”

“Under the slings and arrows of outrageous fortune, have you persuaded yourself that there are knowledges and truths beyond your grasp, things that you simply cannot learn? Have you allowed adverse evidence to pile up and force you to conclude that you are not mathematical, not linguistic, not poetic, not scientific, not philosophical? If you have allowed this to happen you have arbitrarily imposed limits on your intellectual freedom, and you have smothered the fires from which all other freedom arise. Most of us have done this and come short of what that threadbare slogan, human dignity, really means… We are willing to become cripples in our minds and fractions of men in our lives.”

When Tom Palmer, eminent libertarian and St. Johns alumnus, asked me to take some of his students on a tour of Annapolis these quotes were on the short list of stops. The Barr quote at the top of this page and most of the second Buchanan quote are listed on the wall of one of the college’s buildings.

Liberty and the liberal arts are intricately tied. But why? What is it that “St. John’s stands for” that without which ”this country is not worth defending against the Nazis.”

A true education creates a free mind, a mind that is constantly searching, evaluating, and learning in the most honest and authentic way. We commonly believe that if a child can recite the correct answer when queried, that he has, obviously, has a knowledge of it. The problem lies in the fact that you cannot impart knowledge, you can only model the process of acquiring it and encourage an honest examination that leads to understanding. Free society requires those who promote it to model free thinking. It asks us to be critical of our beliefs and our actions. If we are to have a free society we must be self governed and a liberal arts education fosters the ability to do this.

During WWII the Navy considered seizing the campus of St. John’s via eminent domain in order to expand the Naval Academy. The fledgling New Program based on the great [...]]]> We recently came across the following anecdote about Jacob Klein, an eminent liberal artist and once dean of St. John’s College, at this blog:

During WWII the Navy considered seizing the campus of St. John’s via eminent domain in order to expand the Naval Academy. The fledgling New Program based on the great books of western tradition had just recently found a home there, on a campus whose oldest building was constructed before the Revolution, and with funding precarious, any move would probably kill this controversial endeavor outright.

A small delegation headed by Jascha Klein was sent to Washington to try to dissuade the government from seizing the campus. They entered the office of the Secretary of the Navy, who brusquely told them, “You have exactly one minute to tell me why I shouldn’t use your buildings to help the Academy in war time.”

Jascha Klein silently took out his pipe and began filling it with tobacco. He lit the pipe and checked to see if it was drawing well. Then, after 55 seconds had passed, this renowned scholar who had fled Hitler stood up and went to the door.

Turning, he said, “Because without what St. John’s stands for, this country is not worth defending against the Nazis.”

The Navy built the addition across the Severn River instead.

Of course, you cannot help but admire the magnanimity of Klein in this story: his capacity to be cool under fire, to think first, to have the courage to speak truth to power. These are clearly goals of the liberal artist and Klein’s skills in this matter were almost certainly whetted in the school of Socratic dialogue.  (Incidentally, it is probably a good rule of dialogue that there be roughly 55 seconds of quiet contemplation for every 5 seconds of speaking.)

This anecdote illustrates, or at least pertains to, the two elements this blog contends are essential for unleashing the human potential.  The first is liberty in which there is freedom for a competition of ideas, freedom to grow and discover, and freedom to search for the truth.  The second is a firm commitment to the search for an understanding of what is good and true.

Liberty

One of the main issues at stake in this story is the government seeking to seize the property of the college to further its own war-making purposes.

Property is the means of undertaking action.  Articles of property are the means of production, which individuals employ to pursue their goals. Respecting property is, therefore, tolerance.  If individuals’ property can be taken arbitrarily by government, the freedom to plan and to act on the part of those individuals no longer exists.  All goals, plans and actions become subsidiary to the ideas, plans and wishes of the state.  There is no room for diversity of aims, no room for experimentation or objection to state activity.

In his work Liberalism, Ludwig von Mises, one of the greatest advocates of human liberty, described the role of private property thusly:

Private property creates for the individual a sphere in which he is free of the state. It sets limits to the operation of the authoritarian will. It allows other forces to arise side by side with and in opposition to political power. It thus becomes the basis of all those activities that are free from violent interference on the part of the state. It is the soil in which the seeds of freedom are nurtured and in which the autonomy of the individual and ultimately all intellectual and material progress are rooted.

Mises also recognizes that there is a strong tendency on the part of those “who control the governmental apparatus of compulsion and coercion” to “impose oppressive restraints on private property…and to refuse to respect or recognize any free sphere outside or beyond the dominion of the state.”

We cannot hope that those in charge of the government apparatus will voluntarily permit us spheres of activity free and separate from the goals of the state.  Those in government must be restrained by a general public opinion that freedom is important, in other words, that individuals’ decision-making power over their own property—the means of pursuing their own goals—ought to be respected and remain free of the arbitrary interference of government.  This is the meaning of tolerance.  Only under this condition can social discovery and experimentation, alternate social arrangements and objectives “arise side by side with and in opposition to political power.”

(Of course, the very definition of fascism, including Nazism, is that all activities become subservient to the belligerent activities of the state.  On this issue see Mussolini’s own definition and Sheldon Richmond’s.)

How wonderful that St. John’s was able to avoid the social homogenization and destruction caused by belligerent government.

Commitment to the search for truth

One of the reasons it is so easy to be enamored with the Klein story above is that it leaves open to interpretation what St. John’s is all about.  If you like, it says “fill in what you like about St. John’s here.”  This was probably wise on the part of Jacob Klein.  Insofar as the story is true, it would mean that the Secretary of the Navy could fill in his own meaning, do his own thinking and research about why St. John’s and the kind of activity that goes on there is valuable.  The Secretary was clearly not in a receptive place and it would be almost impossible to have said anything significant about the liberal arts without creating a controversy that would have been insurmountable in only a minute.  But Klein’s comment was ideal to turn the Secretary’s “smug ease” into a “need to know,” which is the essential characteristic of Socratic teaching. (See the chapter “The Nature of Socratic Learning” in Peter Abbs’ The Educational Imperative.)

We cannot know definitively what Klein believed “St. John’s stands for” (although, his several lectures and essays make some excellent statements about St. John’s and the liberal arts).  Different people have different ideas about what makes St. John’s valuable.  All the parties in an organization cannot have exactly the same ends, but just as in market exchange where diverse goals are coordinated and mutually advanced by exchange, dialogical exchange is complementary and mutually supportive of many diverse understandings and objectives.  This, in fact, is what I believe makes St. John’s valuable.

In my opinion, there are two basic things St. John’s implicitly “stands for.”

Firstly, St. John’s commitment to dialogical inquiry requires a commitment to peaceful sharing of diverse understanding and the humility to realize that we have something to learn from others who are different from ourselves.  Secondly, St. John’s stands for the faith that “knowledge is possible, that truth is attainable, and that it is always [our] business to seek it” (Buchanan).

Freedom is necessary to find out the good and to do it.  Freedom is necessary for learning and action, but it is not sufficient.  Also needed is the genuine desire to search out truth and what is good.

Jacob Klein’s works and anecdotes about him like this one are inspirational to me.  When I read them, I cannot help but want to emulate him.  I admire his penetrating understanding, the clarity of his thought and writing, his assiduity in the liberal arts, and his erudition.  Klein’s example compels me to want to be better, to not settle for a poor and partial understanding but to constantly search for greater understanding and self-mastery.  I speak earnestly when I say that Jacob Klein is one of my all time heroes.

We must make the building of a free society once more an intellectual adventure, a deed of courage… Unless we can make [...]]]> “Human progress is neither automatic nor inevitable… Every step toward the goal of justice requires sacrifice, suffering, and struggle; the tireless exertions and passionate concern of dedicated individuals.” ~ Martin Luther King, Jr.

We must make the building of a free society once more an intellectual adventure, a deed of courage… Unless we can make the philosophic foundations of a free society once more a living intellectual issue, and its implementation a task which challenges the ingenuity and imagination of our liveliest minds, the prospects of freedom are indeed dark. But if we can regain that belief in power of ideas which was the mark of [classical] liberalism at its best, the battle is not lost. ~F.A. Hayek, Studies in Philosophy, Politics and Economics, p194

If children are allowed free development and given occupation to correspond with their unfolding minds their
natural goodness will shine forth. ~Maria Montessori

There are certain moments in my life where I feel like the world is telling me something. Times where so many of the conversations I have , ideas I am thinking about and articles I read converge, that I can’t help but listen. This is one of those moments.

We all know that how we educate children needs to change, that the public school system is not  “working”. (I go further, and believe that it is inherently incapable of providing a truly valuable education that respects the individuality of the child.)

Most of the discussion of education has been negative statements, statements of what we don’t want. So what is the vision? What do we want out of education? What would be the very best outcome for society?

Now I don’t presume to know the Answer, but I will propose an answer (and I am curious to hear what you think!): We want innovators. We want creative problem solvers, critical thinkers. That is where the continued progress and prosperity lies. We want people who see a problem, and are empowered to fix it, or at least give it an honest try. We want people who see a need, and want to fulfill it. We want entrepreneurs. This call is universal. It goes beyond industry and sector, it reaches the very source of prosperity for all people, in all countries. A country of inspired innovators is a country of prosperous, perhaps even happy, people. The wonderful Maria Montessori said in chapter one of her book, The Absorbent Mind, “If help and salvation are to come, they can only come from the children, for the children are the makers of men.” The next question becomes what is the best way to develop the habits and insights of those “makers of men.” How do we inspire that wonderful quality of “tireless exertions and passionate concern of dedicated individuals.”? Again, I do not presume to know the Answer. It is and always will be an evolving process but I have some ideas…

My current work is inspiring. I am honored to be in the company of a man working towards this: my boss, Jeff Sandefer, is an entrepreneur who, in addition to his many other contributions towards the cause of liberty, is making huge strides in how we approach higher education. The Pope Center for Higher Education put out an excellent article today regarding his prediction of the collapse of the US higher education system. As I work with him to develop a primary school curriculum we are making progress towards changing the very model of elementary education. Exciting times.

Here you will find an excellent speech that he gave on education.

Leonard Read was one of the greatest advocates for peace and human freedom.  His advocacy for these principles was founded on a deep gratitude for human beings and the creativity they [...]]]> Rachel’s last post about music and the market reminded me of this most fabulous article by Leonard E. Read called “The Miraculous Market.”

Leonard Read was one of the greatest advocates for peace and human freedom.  His advocacy for these principles was founded on a deep gratitude for human beings and the creativity they express.  Read’s works are a great example of what Maria Montessori believed should be an integral part of education: inspiring gratitude for human beings and what they have achieved through social cooperation.  In To Educate the Human Potential, she writes:

It is hoped that when this sentiment of love for all subjects can be aroused in children, people in general will become more human, and brutal wars will come to an end. But a love for science and art, and all that mankind has created, will not suffice to make men and women love one another. To love a beautiful sunset, or look with wonder on a tiny insect, does not necessarily awaken a greater feeling of affection towards humanity, nor does a love for art in a man beget a love for his neighbour. What is very necessary is that the individual from the earliest years should be placed in relation with humanity.  There is no love in our hearts for the human beings from whom we have received, and are receiving so much in bread and clothing, and numerous inventions for our benefit.  We take and enjoy all that is done for us without gratitude, like atheists who withhold their gratitude and love from God.  Perhaps we teach the child to thank God and pray to Him, but not to thank humanity, God’s prime agent in creation; we give no thought to the men and women who daily give their lives that we may live more richly….Every achievement has come by the sacrifice of the sacrifice of someone now dead….

Let us in education ever call the attention of children to the hosts of men and women who are hidden from the light of fame, so kindling a love of humanity; not the vague and enaemic sentiment preached today as brotherhood, nor the political sentiment that the working classes should be redeemed and uplifted….

“Music expresses that which cannot be said and on which it is impossible to be silent.” ~Victor Hugo

I have recently been powerfully affected by two musical experiences.

The first is a joy. Her name [...]]]> “Free the child’s potential, and you will transform him into the world” ~Maria Montessori

“Music expresses that which cannot be said and on which it is impossible to be silent.” ~Victor Hugo

I have recently been powerfully affected by two musical experiences.

The first is a joy. Her name is Susan Boyle, and she is an inspiration. The second is one of the most beautiful collaborations I have witnessed and it is a testament to mankind’s love of beauty.

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9lp0IWv8QZY]

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oC4FAyg64OI&feature=player_embedded]

Britian’s Got Talent, a popular television show, debuted this unassuming 47 year-old spinster this past weekend. And she blew us all away. The YouTube Symphony Orchestra called for “professionals and amateur musicians of all ages, locations and instruments to audition for the YouTube Symphony Orchestra by submitting a video performance of a new piece written for the occasion by the renowned Chinese composer Tan Dun.” The winners are performing at Carnegie Hall tonight.

Both are absolutely world class musical compositions and yet both are a direct result of the actions of business projects: The state-funded British Symphony Orchestra did not give 12 million Britons and another 6 million online viewer access to that beauty. A television show did. All the symphonies in the world could not source the talent on the scale of that composition. But YouTube could.

There is a very interesting research being done by Professor Stephen Hicks in Rockford College, IL. (HT: Marsha Enright) His current book project is The Fate of Art under Capitalism and he makes the following observations:

1. Artists have never had it so good as over the last century—the number of practicing artists has skyrocketed, as has the amount of money we spend on art, as has the number of media and genres, as has the quantity and quality of artistic raw materials, and so on.
2. The last century has been relatively capitalism-and-business friendly. (I know what you’re thinking, free market friends of mine.)
3. Most artists, especially those in the artistic establishment, are anti-capitalist and anti-business. (Picasso is representative, in word if not always in deed, here in 1918 speaking of his dealer Léonce Rosenberg: “Le marchand—voilà l’enemmi” [“The dealer—there's the enemy”].)

See the full article (with cartoons!) here

It is only because of the relative freedom of our society that we are able to enjoy these delights on the scale that we are able to. The joy and beauty of the arts is no longer limited to wealthy and the privileged. Even those of the lowest means can purchase a violin and lesson books for less than $100, access the wealth of human experience from the touch of a few buttons, and come to experience beauty of human expression. That is a something that no government could ever make possible.

*Update: At the tech blog Gizmodo, there is a beautiful article about audiophiles and how an expert listener experiences the world, “This is the detail that matters: Audiophiles are basically synesthesiacs. They “see” music in three-dimensional visual space. You close your eyes in Fremer’s chair, and you can perceive a detailed 3D matrix of sound, with each element occupying its own special space in the air. It’s crazy and I’ve never experienced anything like it.” It is a truly wonderful read: Why We Need Audiophiles

Sustainability requires a balance of conservation with use. Governments everywhere subsidize consumption and tax saving [...]]]> It is important to note that the economic crisis we are in right now is not the result of technical or material conditions.  It is an economic problem, a problem regarding the coordination of individuals’ plans and the available resources.

Sustainability requires a balance of conservation with use. Governments everywhere subsidize consumption and tax saving and conservation.

Governments subsidies the production of roads, cars, the extraction of oil, deforestation, you name it. Most harmful is their use of artificial credit expansion from the federal reserve to subsidize widespread short-termism and present-focused consumption over savings and long term stewardship.

What has caused the crisis?  Too much consumption, too much borrowing, too much lending at high risk, not enough thought and care, too much unsustainable growth leading to a widespread miscoordination of plans with the facts of reality.  What is the proposed solution?  More of the same: to keep the economic engine going by encouraging more present consumption, over borrowing, protecting bankers from risky lending, and a continuation of directions of unsustainable growth with more easy credit.

We cannot continue this pattern indefinitely.

This is a great article by Michael Strong.  In it, Michael talks about how Socratic practice helps develop student’s rational abilities and helps make rational, tolerant discourse a cultural norm.  

Michael actually has a column on this website. 

“We are perishing for want of wonder, not for [...]]]> “If the idea of the universe is presented to the child in the right way, it will do more for him than just arouse his interest, for it will create in him admiration and wonder, a feeling loftier than any interest and more satisfying.” ~Maria Montessori

“We are perishing for want of wonder, not for want of wonders.” ~G. K. Chesterton, quoted by Leonard Read, in I, Pencil.

Last night I had an amazing conversation with my incredibly precocious 12 year old neighbor. Our conversation brought us to the idea of being self-sufficient, and what I would, or wouldn’t be able to do without the help of others. I was inspired to bring out I, Pencil, a short essay by Leonard Read, founder of the Foundation for Economic Education, and read it with him. I went and got a pencil, simple, yellow, out of my desk, and we sat down together.

“I, Pencil, am a complex combination of miracles: a tree, zinc, copper, graphite, and so on. But to these miracles which manifest themselves in Nature an even more extraordinary miracle has been added: the configuration of creative human energies—millions of tiny know-hows configurating naturally and spontaneously in response to human necessity and desire and in the absence of any human master-minding! Since only God can make a tree, I insist that only God could make me. Man can no more direct these millions of know-hows to bring me into being than he can put molecules together to create a tree.” I, Pencil, Leonard Read

If you have never read this essay, I highly recommend it, I especially recommend reading it with your younger friends. My neighbor became so engaged! He began thinking of all the different people involved, and how we really aren’t very self sufficient at all. If we can inspire young people to see the wonder in the world around them, not just in nature, but in their own clothes, and plates, and pencils, in the simple things we can take for granted…if we can do that, we can begin to engage them to appreciate the “millions of tiny know-hows”, and once they appreciate them they will be prepared to protect them.

2-minute video of Milton Friedman paraphrasing the I, Pencil story (the essay is better, of course )

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d6vjrzUplWU]