The financial crisis and the situation in Little Rock are the chief subjects of discussion in Britain this week. But I’m inclined to think there’s another subject which, though less spectacular, may be even more important.
A few days ago British schoolchildren went back to school: in a few days university undergraduates will go back to their colleges. Everyone, I suppose, would agree that the future of a country depends very largely on the quality of its education or at least of its educated people, which may not be the same thing. But there is probably less agreement now than ever before on what constitutes a good education or an educated man. Yet there can be no more vital question. If the Western world is concerned about its physical armaments, it should be even more concerned about the spiritual armament of the men behind the weapons. If that armament is defective, we may very well lose the Third World War without firing a shot, for our enemies know exactly what they mean by a good education.
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