The Demands of Liberal Education

The Demands of Liberal Education is a 1999 political philosophy book by Meira Levinson, published by Oxford University Press, setting out a liberal political theory of children's education intended to fit the mutual needs of the state and its diverse citizenry. Levinson argues that the purpose of a liberal education, one that follows from a liberal society's values, is to maximize the autonomy of individual children by increasing their capacity for liberty, treating autonomy as a right belonging to children. She advocates a weak perfectionist state that promotes thick autonomy while accepting citizens who disagree, arguing for public schools common to all citizens and detached from any individual citizen's or community's particular values, backed by a constitutional mandate.