The Last Best Hope: A Democracy Reader

This comprehensive anthology addresses some of the most important issues confronting democracy in the twenty-first century. For instance, What are the conditions necessary for democracy to exist and flourish? Is democracy a sustainable ideal? What does individual freedom mean in a democracy? What is the relationship between democracy and morality? What roles does or should education play in a democratic society Essays from such distinguished thinkers as Benjamin Barber, Robert Kaplan, Wendell Berry, Noam Chomsky, Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi, Amy Gutmann, Neil Postman, Robert Putnam, and Howard Zinn are included. In addition to providing a provocative view of a complex subject, this collection will also be invaluable to anyone seeking a general introduction and overview of contemporary thought on the subject of democracy and education. Democracy demands of its citizens the ability to discuss, debate, and learn from one another. The Last Best Hope, a companion volume to Developing Democratic Character in the Young, encourages and makes a major contribution to such discourse. These essays will challenge groups of democratic readers to examine their social and political assumptions, and in so doing will enable them to strengthen their commitment to the quality of democratic life. The Last Best Hope is a call to reflective action. --Stanley N. Katz, professor, Woodrow Wilson School of Public and International Affairs, Princeton University, and professor emeritus, American Council of Learned Societies The Editor Stephen John Goodlad is a writer and philosopher whose interests center on the relationships between environmentalism, ecology, and democracy and, in turn, the implications of those relationships for education and schooling.…