CHAPTER 3

A CONSERVATIVE PERSPECTIVE ON ILLITERACY

Illiteracy and Conservatism in America

The most potent challenge to liberalism has emerged in the U.S., where neo-aissez -fair economic theory (e.g. monetarism, "supply side" economics) is insurgent as evidenced by the election of Ronald Reagan as President. This shift to the right has brought various conservative social theories into prominence, several of which have direct relevance to the question of illiteracy. It is useful to examine them here because they present certain core themes which appear in the ideas and policies of Canadian political elites as well, albeit in less reactionary forms at the present time.

The Individual

The conservative perspective which is presently being consolidated in the U.S. shares with the liberal perspective the assumption that there is a causal connection between illiteracy and poverty, i.e. that illiteracy leads to low personal productivity, which in turn leads to poor job prospects and low income. However, conservatives hold that illiteracy is a relatively secondary factor in the causation of poverty, and reject the remediation strategy as an anti-poverty approach. Moreover, they explain the failure of the War on Poverty as the result of the misguided attempt to implement it.

As we have seen, liberals explain that adults are poor because of deficiencies in "human capital" resulting from environmental and institutional factors, particularly a self-perpetuating culture of poverty. In contrast, conservatives shift the blame for poverty directly onto the individual. According to political economist David Gordon, conservatives:

argue that individuals have many opportunities to raise their own productivities. They can stay in school, work steadily, and stay on jobs long enough to learn new skills. If some individuals have low productivities, they are primarily to blame for their own disadvantages 1

Conservatives hold that a capitalist economy bestows success according to the ambition, ability and hard work of the individuals who compete in it. Therefore, if some individuals remain poor, it is because they have not demonstrated these qualities.