Why Get a Liberal Education?

[malthaussen]

6. See. here's the difficulty.

In the bad old days, the ruling class, the business class, and the professional class all had liberal educations. It was rather the expected thing. And with this education, they were expected to lead nations into enlightenment and bring peace and progress to the human race. So, since they were all educated at the same schools and in the same traditions, why didn't this happen? We are where we are today, arguably, because those educated in the liberal tradition did not respect it enough to follow its precepts, and were willing to betray the principles said education supposedly inculcates for expediency and personal advantage. It really matters little how many ethics courses one takes if one is laughing up his sleeve the whole time; and after all, ethics are still part of law education, and we can see what that's worth.

I've been liberally educated, largely at my own initiative, and I find the liberal arts endless sources of joy and delight, but I can't claim that a liberal education -- or any education at all, if it comes to that -- is some kind of panacea for all our social ills. That liberal education is discouraged by the fascists who want to eliminate critical thinking in the masses is true, I suppose, but those self-same fascists are often the products of the liberal education it is being claimed is their best opposition. Something is missing in the equation.

-- Mal