Editor’s Note: Mr. Manville researches and writes about the history of democracy and the future of free societies, after a distinguished career in knowledge management for McKinsey & Co and SABA. Together with Stanford professor Josiah Ober, he recently published a thoughtful book with ideas on how to renew our democracy, The Civic Bargain: How Democracy Survives. Like many observers, they have grown concerned about the state of civic education, but also offer solutions.
There is a long tradition of civic education in America, encompassing both informal and formal learning. Literacy rates in colonial America were high in comparison to contemporary monarchical and autocratic countries. Literacy promoted knowledge of current events and ancient history. It fostered the culture of critical thought, reasoned argument, and frank debate that was a precondition for the revolution.