> In [Henry Kissinger's] concluding chapter, he issues a plea for a return to a broader humanistic education based on an engagement with philosophy, modern lang

> In [Henry Kissinger's] concluding chapter, he issues a plea for a return to a broader humanistic education based on an engagement with philosophy, modern languages, history, literature, and classical antiquity. While American secondary schools and universities have become adept at educating, or, to put it more precisely, producing, activists and technicians, they have «wandered from their mission of forming citizens - among them potential statesmen». Whether this development can truly be arrested is an open question. The American mind has been closing for awhile. But in producing Leadership, which is old-fashioned in the best sense of the term, Kissinger has produced a potent reminder that great men and, yes, women can make history rather than remain passive observers helplessly buffeted about by contemporary events ~~~ Jacob Heilbrunn Decline of the quality of education seen in many already leading Countries is producing weakened «citizens»; the consequences are massive, degrading quality of service and finally making entire classes of critical service fade into unusability. The rigid consideration of aggregates like "more people in the world can read" reveals a potential of progress in long timespans and hides dire crises of immediate urgency. -- Edit: while I had other contexts in mind, it is an interesting coincidence that the current _topmost_ submission in HN is "Ask Wirecutter: Can you recommend a not-smart TV for me?".