In Defense of a Liberal Education

In 2014, governors of three states—Florida, Texas, and North Carolina—pledged that they would not spend taxpayer money subsidizing the liberal arts. While at a General Electric plant in early 2014, President 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. Commentator Fareed Zakaria recalls what it was like to grow up in India—an even more obsessed society with getting a skills-based education. However, Zakaria argues eloquently in support of a liberal arts education—expounding on the virtues of clear writing, persuasive speaking, and analytic thinking.