Excellence Author:John William Gardner : Can we be equal and excellent too? — " — Newly revised, this immensely influential book deals with troublesome questions that worry every thinking American today. Can our society achieve and hold to standards that will enable us to survive in a toughly competitive world? The book goes to the heart of the matter: the strengt... more »hs and failings of our educational system, our confusion over the idea of equality, the nature of leadership in a free society. It delineates attitudes that could destroy us and attitudes that could revive the national will.
John Gardner, whose activities have touched virtually every aspect of American life, asks: Is excellence possible in a democracy? Does our devotion to equality condemn us to a pervasive mediocrity? How can one honestly explain or justify the slovenliness that is so often the norm in our schools, unions, industries, the government? How equal can we be? Can an egalitarian society tolerate winners? How much talent can society absorb? Does every young American have a right to a college education? Are we headed toward domination by an intellectual elite?
This is a book for anyone who is uneasy about the quality of our national life."« less