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An Aristocracy of Everyone
s/t: The Politics of Education & the Future of America
In this timely, witty, and readable account, Barber emphatically shows that education must emphasize democracy as much as it does the pursuit of excellence. With such an education, young Americans will gain nothing less than an apprenticeship in liberty-one grounded in a renewed commitment to community service-an idea that Barber put into practice at Rutgers University, and one which President Clinton has embraced as the key to a revitalized America.
In this timely, witty, and readable account, Barber emphatically shows that education must emphasize democracy as much as it does the pursuit of excellence. With such an education, young Americans will gain nothing less than an apprenticeship in liberty-one grounded in a renewed commitment to community service-an idea that Barber put into practice at Rutgers University, and one which President Clinton has embraced as the key to a revitalized America.
320 pages, Paperback
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