Liberty in education: an application of Hayek and Humboldt’s perspectives

This paper analyses the concept of freedom as developed by Friedrich Hayek and Wilhelm von Humboldt and examines its practical application to the specific area of education policy. To respect the spontaneous character of social orders, both authors take the view that the organization of a national education system should not be monopolized by the centralized state. By way of an alternative, different schools should be allowed to emerge and to address the different needs of children. Within this context, this paper argues that the school choice principle seems to be the most adequate to assure that personal liberty is respected when the government performs its necessary activities through its institutions.