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The creation and spread of knowledge has always redefined the possibilities of the human experience. Among all the inventions of humans—water treatment, bows and arrows, space travel—formal education is, perhaps, the most powerful. Whether in the form of trade apprenticeships, religious schools, or modern universities, education is the principal way in which we pass skills and knowledge from one person, and even one generation, to another. At the heart of education lies an inquiry and understanding of how it is that we come to know. In modern times this includes the development and application of the scientific method, which has become vital to the creation and dissemination of knowledge. As education becomes more accessible, affordable, and flexible, knowledge and skills act, increasingly, as tools for the empowerment for the world’s poor. In fact, studies point to education as being associated with better health, improved well-being, and increased economic empowerment. 1 This notion that education can unlock a person’s potential is relatively noncontroversial. More controversial is the related notion that education should be made available to all. Indeed, despite the fact that it is specifically mentioned in Article 26 of the United Nations Universal Declaration of Human rights, 2 this ‘education as a fundamental human right’idea is a relatively recent phenomenon. Historically, learning was an activity reserved for privileged citizens: the priestly class, the wealthy, men. In The Theory of the Leisure Class, Veblen