In the education system now being reformed in Myanmar there will hopefully be room for the core values of a liberal education. Certainly many other demands will be made on schools, colleges and universities as policy makers seek to plug the yawning skills gap that has opened up in recent decades. Clearly, though, there is more to education than training, and the liberal tradition has always sought to address that.

Writing from the commanding heights of the presidency of Wesleyan University, one of America’s leading liberal arts colleges, is Michael S Roth. In a recent op-ed, he notes that two intertwining strands have always characterized liberal education in the US. One is “critical inquiry in pursuit of truth”. The other is “exuberant performance in pursuit of excellence”. He argues that in the past half-century a narrow form of critical thinking has become dominant, to the detriment of the tradition as a whole.

Partly the problem is that students have become very good at picking apart texts, but too often have limited ability beyond that. Partly it is that there is today too much detachment. “The inquirer has taken the guise of the sophisticated (often ironic) spectator, rather than the messy participant in continuing experiments or even the reverent beholder of great cultural achievements.”

Roth makes a case for true engagement with ideas and issues. “Creative work, in whatever field, depends upon commitment, the energy of participation and the ability to become absorbed in works of literature, art and science.” Or, in the short form: “Liberal learning depends on absorption in compelling work.”