In Defense Of A Liberal Education

“The great danger facing American higher education is not that too many students are studying the liberal arts.”

Zakaria provides data showing that the study of the liberal arts has been in decline throughout the past few decades. Thus, the argument that some critics make against the liberal arts as overstudied and useless is unsupported by the facts.

“‘Is it a vital interest of the state to have more anthropologists?’ Florida’s Rock Scott asked, ‘I don’t think so.’”

Leaders across the political spectrum have denigrated the liberal arts and perpetuated the myth that liberal arts degrees are useless. Former Florida governor Rick Scott, for example, suggested that anthropology degrees are useless because he could not understand their application to a specific career in service of the state. Zakaria, by contrast, argues that politicians like Scott should recognize The Role of Education in Democracy instead of focusing only on specific jobs-based objectives.

“The irrelevance of a liberal education is an idea that has achieved that rare status in Washington: bipartisan agreement.”

Zakaria laments the bipartisan critique of the liberal arts. President Obama once made a quip suggesting that the study of art history is useless. Zakaria, however, suggests that such a degree is widely useful because it requires the study of languages and hones critical-thinking skills that are important in a wide array of careers.

“This innovation in government required a simultaneous innovation in education. Basic skills for sustenance were no longer sufficient—citizens also had to be properly trained to run their own society.”

Zakaria suggests that the birth of democracy in classical Athens drove educational change, thus reflecting The Role of Education in Democracy. The ancients shifted from training for their specific occupations to the philosophical foundations of a liberal arts education. This new way of learning developed superior citizens intellectually equipped to serve their society.

“[T]he reality is that liberal education has always combined a mixture of both approaches—practical and philosophical. Science was central to liberal education from the start […] In the ancient world, and for many centuries thereafter, science was seen as a path to abstract knowledge. It had no practical purpose. Humanistic subjects, like language and history, on the other hand, equipped the young to function well in the world as politicians, courtiers, lawyers, and merchants.”

The liberal arts and sciences were historically linked with philosophy, giving rise to scientific inquiry through its emphasis on questioning the world in its entirety. Moreover, the ancients valued the humanities in a way that contemporary societies do not. They understood the liberal arts’ ability to create knowledgeable individuals who serve the common good.

“The residential college has come to be seen as possessing certain qualities that enhance the experience of a liberal education beyond the curriculum.”

The emergence of the residential college in the modern era supported liberal education because students live and learn together. This creates a communal and collaborative educational environment in which students engage in intellectual conversations and debates outside of the classroom.

“Eliot proposed that America’s great universities embrace the research function, but that they do so at the graduate level, leaving undergraduates free to explore their interests more broadly.”

Harvard University president Charles Eliot observed the rise of the European research university and incorporated it into his vision for the American university. However, unlike European institutions, Eliot did not encourage early specialization. Instead, he promoted research at the graduate level, while undergraduates would receive a broad liberal education that offered the freedom of many electives to cultivate broad-minded students. This tradition persists in the modern US university system.

“In studying other societies, students learn much more about their own. It is only by having some point of comparison that we can understand the distinctive qualities of Western or Chinese or Indian culture.”

Zakaria highlights the Yale-NUS curriculum as an ideal model for the future of higher education because it links the liberal arts and sciences while also promoting a combination of Eastern and Western thought. This global approach creates well-rounded graduates who become informed global citizens capable of empathy and who have a strong understanding of their own societies and those of others.

“I was pretty good at taking tests and regurgitating things I had memorized; I was not so good at expressing my own ideas.”

Zakaria uses his personal educational background to explain The Value of a Liberal Arts Education. Secondary education in his home country of India focused on memorizing content knowledge. There was no room for critical thinking. His liberal education, however, taught him to think about the world and ideas in new and important ways.

“Whatever job you take, the specific subjects you studied in college will probably prove somewhat irrelevant to the day-to-day work you will do soon after you graduate […] What will remain constant are the skills you acquire and the methods you learn to approach problems.”

Zakaria contends that the liberal arts, like vocational and technical programs, provide learners with essential skills that will last a lifetime, highlighting Adaptability and Creativity in Education that can later be applied to the work force and private industries. The content that students learn may fade from memory, but the critical thinking, written and communication skills, and other intellectual habits that students hone will persist and serve them well in their lives and careers.

“Drew Faust, president of Harvard University, has pointed out that a liberal education should give people the skills ‘that will help them get ready for their sixth job, not their first job.’”

Liberal arts majors may earn less right out of university than their counterparts in fields like engineering. However, this pay gap lessens as the years pass and as liberal arts degree holders accrue experiences that employers value. Thus, we are encouraged to think about an education’s long-term value rather than the immediate return.

“Technology and engineering involve extraordinary explorations of ideas and thought, something that is often lost because of their real-world application.”

Zakaria counters the idea that technical skills and the liberal arts are at odds. Instead, he believes that a liberal education fosters creativity and curiosity that supports innovation in many areas, including technology and engineering. Thus, regardless of one’s major, all students should be grounded in a core liberal arts curriculum.

“[T]here is actually something powerful in the plucky confidence of American, Swedish, and Israeli students. It allows them to challenge their elders, start companies, persist when others think they are wrong, and pick themselves up when they fail.”

Zakaria here discusses American students’ poor performance on some standardized testing that shows the US falling below other nations. He argues, however, that the US is one of the most globally innovative and competitive countries because of the persistence and critical thinking that the American system of education generates.

“Jefferson’s fear was that without such a system of public education, the country would end up being ruled by a privileged elite that would recycle itself through a network of private institutions that entrenched their advantages.”

Zakaria provides readers with a brief sketch of the history of a liberal education. The Founding Fathers, like Thomas Jefferson, recognized The Role of Education in Democracy. Moreover, Jefferson believed that such an education should be freely available through public funding. He saw a well-educated public as central to democracy’s survival and thus argued that the state must financially support it.

“Once highways to the middle class, these schools are reeling from decades of reduced support from their state governments as well as rising costs.”

Many of today’s public colleges and universities are plagued by severe budget cuts due to decreased public funding. This decline in public funding has caused tuition to rise and made higher education much less affordable than it was 40 years ago, which hinders the social mobility of middle-class and working-class students.

“The Internet was transforming all industries in some way or another. The chance that it would leave education alone was highly unlikely—and to fail to recognize that was not the way to plan for the future.”

Technology has changed higher education. Zakaria specifically focuses on the transformative effect of massive open online courses (MOOCs), believing them to be an example of Adaptability and Creativity in Education. Although MOOCs have been less disruptive to the status quo than Zakaria expected, technological developments nonetheless continue to impact education. This impact was especially apparent during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic, when students pivoted to online learning. Many colleges and universities have continued to offer more online course options than they did prior to the pandemic.

“In other words, a large portion of MOOC users are interested in acquiring a liberal education—or enhancing the one they received years ago.”

Data collection from those enrolled in MOOCs shows that many are interested in The Value of a Liberal Arts Education. Learners are not only enrolling in technical or science courses. Zakaria cites these enrollments as evidence of a persistent interest in liberal arts education.

“The notion that knowledge is dangerous has recurred in Western thought for millennia.”

Western thinkers, since ancient Greece, have acknowledged the empowering nature of knowledge. Zakaria suggests that while knowledge can be used for evil means, like the rise of fascist governments, it has largely been employed for good. He credits liberal education with declines in abuses like enslavement and domestic violence and with giving rise to civil rights movements.

“But the softer sciences and humanities have also yielded powerful benefits. Human beings have organized themselves in more productive ways, economically, politically, and socially.”

Zakaria’s contention that the liberal arts are valuable is supported by economic, social, and political changes that have resulted from critical reflection. This critical thinking is fostered by the liberal arts. A liberal education thus has the power to transform the world for good.

“When we absorb great literature, we come face to face with ideas, experiences, and emotions that we might never otherwise encounter in our lifetime. When we read history, we encounter people from a different age and learn from their triumphs and travails. When we study physics and biology, we comprehend the mysteries of the universe and life. And when we listen to great music, we are moved in ways that reason cannot comprehend. This may not help make a living, but it will help make a life.”

Zakaria argues that studying the liberal arts makes us better people. Exposure to the arts and humanities enriches our live, makes us more empathetic, and enriches our appreciation for cultures different from our own.

“But critics seem to feel that in confronting the grueling system of reward, kids should take it easy, relax, follow their bliss, and search for their souls. Apparently, Goldman Sachs will understand.”

Cultural critics attack today’s college students for being more concerned about resume building than big ideas. Zakaria, however, defends America’s youth as products of forces beyond their control. They live in a world of economic and job insecurity, so it is no surprise that they worry about adding lines to their resumes rather than debating philosophical questions.

“The data also show that students today combine their worldly aspirations with a strong desire to do good.”

Contemporary students are not as self-centered or apathetic as critics would have us believe. Research shows that today’s students not only want successful, well-paying careers but also want to better their communities. Zakaria takes an optimistic view of today’s college students, in whom he sees great potential.

“The young reflect today’s realities. Their lives are more involved with these economic and technological forces than with ideology and geopolitics.”

Zakaria here asserts that contemporary young Americans are shaped by the economic and political circumstances in which they live. He believes that modern college students do not engage in the kind of political activism that earlier generations did because they live in a different world. The Cold War is over, and bipartisanship in Washington is more common than it was during previous decades. The political situation in the US has changed since Zakaria’s book was published (2014), highlighting The Role of Education in Democracy as university students once again engage more actively in various forms of political activism.