Democracy's Midwife An Education in Deliberation

by Crittenden, Jack

• ISBN13: 9780739103296
• ISBN10: 0739103296
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 2002-02-12
• Publisher: Lexington Books

Summary

The philosopher-educator John Dewey wrote that "Democracy has to be born anew every generation, and education is its midwife." In an America where every vote--though considered equally--counts for very little, Democracy's Midwife offers the vision of a new kind of democratic system: a deliberative democracy energized by an educated citizenry. Jack Crittenden's excellent new study looks behind the modern democratic rhetoric to reveal a system of government that excludes citizens from participating directly in decision-making. The book combines a thorough examination of the theoretical underpinnings of democratic education with radical solutions for the overhaul of a system of civic education dating back to the Founding Fathers. Democracy's Midwife is both a denunciation of an education system that has failed to prepare future citizens for participation in public life and a timely blueprint for the creation of a civic-minded electorate prepared for the responsibility of self-government.

Author Biography

Jack Crittenden is associate professor of political science at Arizona State University.

Table of Contents

Acknowledgments	xi
Introduction	1	(12)
The Rise of Liberal Democracy	13	(22)
Liberalism and Autonomy	35	(22)
Autonomy and Deliberative Democracy	57	(26)
Civic Education	83	(36)
Critical Thinking: The Core across the Curriculum	119	(38)
Reform Schools: Implementing the Democratic Curriculum	157	(50)
Epilogue	207	(16)
Bibliography	223	(18)
Index	241	(8)
About the Author	249