New Delhi, Oct. 28 -- Goodness is as much an evolutionary construct as selfishness, but we have built a world to amplify the latter and let the former fend for itself. Let us consider an example.

Over the past two decades, it has become quite clear that on average, private schools do not do better than public schools in terms of student learning once the economic backgrounds of children are accounted for. As evidence has gathered across the world, even diehard market fans have stopped touting privatization as a solution to the problems of education.

The case made for private schools was simple. Parents can walk away from a school that does not perform, so schools have a self-interest in doing well, and the self-interest of parents provi...