Democracy's Midwife

the long version

"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 rhetorical underpinnings of democratic education with radical solutions for overhauling a system of civic education that dates back to the Founding Fathers. Democracy's Midwife is both denunciation of an education system that has failed to prepare future citizens for participating in public life and a timely blueprint for creating a civic-minded electorate prepared for the responsibility of self-government."--BOOK JACKET.