Democracy's Midwife An Education in Deliberation

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.

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