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An Aristocracy of Everyone
In this brilliant, controversial, and profoundly original book, Benjamin R. Barber fundamentally alters the terms of the current debate over the value of opportunity in American education, politics, and culture.
Barber argues that the fashionable rallying cries of cultural literacy and political correctness completely miss the point of what is wrong with our society. While we fret about "the closing of the American mind" we utterly ignore the closing of American schools. While we worry about Japanese technology, we fail to tap the more fundamental ideological resources on which our country was founded. As Barber argues, the future of America lies not in competition but in education. Education in America can and must embrace both democracy and excellence.
Barber demonstrates persuasively that our national story has always comprised an intermingling of diverse, contradictory, often subversive voices. Multiculturalism has, from the very start, defined America. From his gripping portrait of America poised on the brink of unprecedented change, Barber offers a daringly original program for effecting for teaching democracy depends not only on the preeminence of education but on a resurgence of true community service.
A ringing challenge to the complacency, cynicism, and muddled thinking of our time that will change the way you feel about being an American citizen.
Barber argues that the fashionable rallying cries of cultural literacy and political correctness completely miss the point of what is wrong with our society. While we fret about "the closing of the American mind" we utterly ignore the closing of American schools. While we worry about Japanese technology, we fail to tap the more fundamental ideological resources on which our country was founded. As Barber argues, the future of America lies not in competition but in education. Education in America can and must embrace both democracy and excellence.
Barber demonstrates persuasively that our national story has always comprised an intermingling of diverse, contradictory, often subversive voices. Multiculturalism has, from the very start, defined America. From his gripping portrait of America poised on the brink of unprecedented change, Barber offers a daringly original program for effecting for teaching democracy depends not only on the preeminence of education but on a resurgence of true community service.
A ringing challenge to the complacency, cynicism, and muddled thinking of our time that will change the way you feel about being an American citizen.
307 pages, Hardcover
First published January 1, 1992
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About the author
Benjamin R. Barber
43 books40 followersAmerican political theorist perhaps best known for his 1996 bestseller, Jihad vs. McWorld.
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Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews
April 9, 2016
I have always found Barber's project attractive as I too am drawn to a more robust form of participatory democratic politics and to reinvigorating the classical republican tradition. However, this book does little to argue in favour of the form of politics and life that Barber prefers; instead, it just assumes that the audience already agrees.
Worse yet Barber seems to be fully aware of all of the forces that encourage privatism, selfishness and political apathy, and yet he does little to address whether a participatory democratic polity is compatible with a commercial society of jobholders.
Similarly, there are some cringe worthy attempts at memorable rhetoric.
The one thing Barber seems to me to get right and argue convincingly for is that the so called crisis in education and cultural literacy, is not a crisis of the youth and schools, but rather a crisis of a shallow, acquisitive, consumerist society as a whole.
Worse yet Barber seems to be fully aware of all of the forces that encourage privatism, selfishness and political apathy, and yet he does little to address whether a participatory democratic polity is compatible with a commercial society of jobholders.
Similarly, there are some cringe worthy attempts at memorable rhetoric.
The one thing Barber seems to me to get right and argue convincingly for is that the so called crisis in education and cultural literacy, is not a crisis of the youth and schools, but rather a crisis of a shallow, acquisitive, consumerist society as a whole.
March 29, 2013
I was worried that this title was going to lead to a book of capitalist theory bashing. This book mostly just tells what is and what isn't the elite. Who among our forefathers were elite status, their education, what they brought to the table for the common man. Class system exists and is moored in place due to the education availability. Equal rights, should also include equal educate, equal opportunity. Not just words used in a judicial setting.
Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews