Aristocracy of Everyone

In this book, Benjamin Barber sets a new agenda for the debate over education in America. He argues that both sides of the current debate: the elistist, anti-democratic conservatives and the radical champions of Political Correctness have missed the point. He argues that rather than arguing over who should be taught, what should be taught, and how it should be paid for, education must be addressed as the well-spring of democracy in the United States. Education should instil in students a commitment to community service, the literacy to live in a civil society, the competence to participate in democratic communities, the ability to think critically and deliberately in a pluralistic world, and empathy to help them understand their fellow citizens.