Vouchers and the Social Contract

To the Editor:

The recent Commentary by Peter W. Cookson Jr. opposing school vouchers bore the disturbing headline, "There's No Escape Clause in the Social Contract" ("School Vouchers: Pro and Con," Commentary, July 10, 1996). Reasonable people can disagree about vouchers, but this sweeping claim defies the very foundation of the American political system. If government need not depend upon the consent of the governed--if the "social contract" contains no "escape clause"--then we might as well throw out the Declaration of Independence and...