October 16, 1998

The Path to a Civil Society Goes Through the University

By WILLIAM DAMON

For much of this decade, public intellectuals in the United States have led a chorus of concern over the state of our "civil society." The phrase is evocative and inclusive, alluding both to the quality of our interpersonal relations and to the vitality of our democratic processes. Signs that our civil society is in trouble can be seen in a demise of courtesy in commonplace transactions (angry gestures on the

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