Liberal Education is defended against the "new vocationalism" (fewer students in liberal arts programs) as the liberating experience which prevents the fragmentation of society into "a patternless mosaic of technicians who know everything about their jobs except how they fit into the overall scheme of things." (JT)

The social context of the debate over liberal education is discussed in terms of the pressures on deans to phase out underpopulated fields of study, the pressures on educators to produce measurably competent graduates for an ever more technological economy, and a general questioning of liberal and humanistic values. (MLW)