Illiteracy

As regards illiteracy, conservatives allow that the failure to attain literacy skills is not always solely the fault of the individual. An influential current of conservative educational thought blames liberals and the liberal educational philosophy of "progressivism" for causing public schools to concentrate on what conservatives consider non-essentials like music, extracurricular activities and social studies, to the exclusion of the proper development of basic cognitive skills, like reading and writing, which are demanded in the world of work. They propose that schools shake off this liberal influence and go "back to the basics" in subject matter and methods (e.g. stressing rote learning and formal didactic instruction).11 A favorite theme with regard to methods has to do with the allegedly pernicious effects of the "look and say" or word recognition method of reading instruction (which stresses reading for meaning), and the incomparable benefits of the phonics method (which stresses memorization).

However, even if conservatives think that illiteracy is due in some measure to an institutional factor, they oppose any help to illiterate adults through the expenditure of public funds. Presumably, the more ambitious among the victims, of liberal schooling will not allow this problem to stop them--they will develop these skills through adult evening classes and other available opportunities. Here, the Reagan administration looks favorably on efforts to reduce illiteracy either as a profit-making venture, an approach pioneered by the Boston-based Control Data Corporation,12 or through a volunteer campaign financed by private charity and philanthropy, such as the new conservative National Assault on Illiteracy organization 13

Class Interests

In the view of many social scientists, the U.S. neo-conservative social and economic philosophy as presented above constitutes a forthright defense of the class interests of the rich and favored in that country and a vigorous assault on the interests of the working class, particularly the poor.14 Its overtones of repression and social control are unmistakable. In spite of the cloak of academic respectability affected by some of the adherents of the philosophy, many of its assumptions and analyses are considered to be either scientifically suspect or otherwise lacking in intellectual merit 15

For this reason, one would wish not to have to take it seriously, but this is no longer possible in the wake of the election of Ronald Reagan as President. Under his leadership, this reactionary doctrine is playing a pivotal role in efforts by an influential fraction of the ruling class in the U.S. to shore up what is a deteriorating economic situation by shifting the burden onto the most exploited strata of the working class.