A deep commitment to general education is impossible in a context in which faculty and students prize above all their ability to teach and study what they want.

Education, from Addams' perspective, must not merely make us more adept at defending ourselves against those with different agendas. Education should increase our powers of empathy and our ability to act in concert with others.

Beware of critics of education who cloak their desire to protect privilege (and inequality) in the garb of educational reform.