The liberal arts are under attack. The governors of Florida, Texas, and North Carolina have all pledged that they will not spend taxpayer money subsidizing the liberal arts, and they seem to have an unlikely ally in President Obama. While at a General Electric plant in early 2014, Obama remarked, "I promise you, folks can make a lot more, potentially, with skilled manufacturing or the trades than they might with an art history degree." These messages are hitting home: majors like English and history, once very popular and highly respected, are in steep decline.

"I get it," writes Fareed Zakaria, recalling the atmosphere in India where he grew up, which was even more obsessed with getting a skills-based education. However, the CNN host and best-selling author explains why this widely held view is mistaken and shortsighted.

Zakaria eloquently expounds on the virtues of a liberal arts education--how to write clearly, how to express yourself convincingly, and how to think analytically. He turns our leaders' vocational argument on its head. American routine manufacturing jobs continue to get automated or outsourced, and specific vocational knowledge is often outdated within a few years. Engineering is a great profession, but key value-added skills you will also need are creativity, lateral thinking, design, communication, storytelling, and, more than anything, the ability to continually learn and enjoy learning--precisely the gifts of a liberal education.

Zakaria argues that technology is transforming education, opening up access to the best courses and classes in a vast variety of subjects for millions around the world. We are at the dawn of the greatest expansion of the idea of a liberal education in human history.

A passionate defense of an American dream

Kelley D. - 2 years 10 months ago

In In Defense of a Liberal Education, Fareed Zakaria recounts his first year at Yale University pursuing his parents' dream that he study engineering. They hoped he would obtain a lucrative job that translated to success and recognition in their home in India. It wasn't long before he abandoned that path to study history and to experience what many know as a liberal arts education. The book covers the history of liberal arts education in America with particular emphasis on the liberality--i.e., the curriculum is less strict than comparable universities in other countries, and allows students to pursue a wider range of interests as a part of their college experiences--that makes it unique. Following the history, the author's argument is blunt: American collegiate education has become too focused on job training and needs to go back to teaching students how to think critically about a wide range of subjects, to communicate gracefully and effectively, and to become effective and engaged citizens. These responsibilities, Zakaria argues, are the things that make Americans excellent. He cites figures of American history (notably Benjamin Franklin, Ralph Waldo Emerson, and Henry David Thoreau) as models of the citizens that liberal arts education should hope to produce, and presents these figures in a relatable and inspirational light. These are American intellectuals of whom today's American citizens should be proud. Personally, the thing that made this a page-turner for me was Zakaria's constant optimism. It's infectious, even when he discusses some of the current problems in education. Every college and high school student needs to read this book.
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