The liberal arts are under attack. The governors of Florida, Texas, and North Carolina have all pledged that they will not spend taxpayer money subsidizing the liberal arts, and they seem to have an unlikely ally in President Obama. While at a General Electric plant in early 2014, Obama remarked, I promise you, folks can make a lot more, potentially, with skilled manufacturing or the trades than they might with an art history degree. These messages are hitting home: majors like English and history, once very popular and highly respected, are in steep decline.I get it, writes Fareed Zakaria, recalling the atmosphere in India where he grew up, which was even more obsessed with getting a skills-based education. However, the CNN host and best-selling author explains why this widely held view is mistaken and shortsighted.Zakaria eloquently expounds on the virtues of a liberal arts education--how to write clearly, how to express yourself convincingly, and how to think analytically. He turns our leaders' vocatio