Part V of this series provoked many emails requesting more symptoms showing the decline of the State (DOTS) in America. I wish all the questions I received were so easy to answer. This essay will give some general background and a specific example.
The ur-text for DOTS is Martin van Creveld’s The Rise and Decline of the State. [DNI Editor’s note: See also van Creveld’s “The Fate of the State”] He gives vast evidence of DOTS in America, such as the shifting of core functions like primary education and security from public to private entities – either for profit companies or non-government organizations (NGO’s).
The privatization of education is a major media story, especially efforts by the government to resist the rise of home teaching and for-profit schools. The privatization of security has occurred more quietly and is perhaps more significant. Private security detectives/guards outnumber police in America by approximately 1.1 million to 800 thousand, and their numbers are growing faster. The total number of private guards does not even include in-house guards, such as for companies and schools – nor mercs, such as those Blackwater brought in to guard the mansions of New Orleans following Katrina.
Clusty search on Fabius Maximus.
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The issues discussed by “Fabius Maximus”, while often applied to global matters are also relevant locally.
I pondered this while listening to parents, school staff and community leaders discuss group and gang activity and violence at and near our local high schools this week.
http://www.schoolinfosystem.org/archives/2007/10/west_high_regen.php
Unfortunately, it’s required activist parents (and their children) to bring some of these issues to light. I suspect we’ve not heard the last of this.
Madison Parent’s School Safety Site has more:
http://madisonps3.com/
http://madisonps3.com/2007/09/02/police-calls-for-madison-schools-july-2006-june-2007/
Finally, two years ago, Rafael Gomez organized a forum on Gangs and School Violence. All four Madison principals (along with Edgewood’s) participated along with local law enforcement representatives. About 80 parents attended this event.
Audio and Video here:
http://www.schoolinfosystem.org/archives/2005/09/gangs_and_schoo_2.php
SIS on Gangs & School Violence
http://www.zmetro.com/cgi-bin/mt/mt-search.cgi?IncludeBlogs=6&search=Gangs+and+School+Violence
RSS:
http://www.zmetro.com/cgi-bin/mt/mt-search.cgi?search=Gangs%20and%20School%20Violence&Template=feed&IncludeBlogs=6