Abstract

The goal of this book is to develop a coherent liberal political theory of children's education provision. This goal is motivated by three observations: although people's intuitions about liberalism already guide their approach to education policy, their intuitions are often wrong; in liberal states, liberal political principles should and do have important ramifications for education policy; and educational outcomes have important ramifications for the health and preservation of the liberal polity. The book does not justify liberalism's value—instead takes that as given—but it does address the relationship between formal schooling and other forms of education, as well as discusses the difference between liberal and democratic theories of education.