A Brief History of the Public Good

Abstract

At the moment, the viability of “the public good,” which has a long history in America, is being fiercely contested. Neoliberal thinkers have challenged the very idea of a public good—especially as a concept independent of economic considerations. Following the work of economist Gary Becker on human capital, the civic and moral benefits traditionally associated with higher education and a liberal arts education have also been called into question. In this chapter, we briefly survey the history of this important American idea and map its journey into current debates about public policy, higher education, and the community college.