The Wisdom of the Commons examines the history and philosophy of civic education as the essential political part of liberal education. This study distinguishes itself from other works on liberal and civic education by focusing explicitly on the civic and liberal education of those citizens who are not destined for prominent positions within politics and government but are still a part of and relevant to political society. It considers this strand of liberal and civic education, in both its ancient and modern iterations, by focusing on the philosophies of Plato, Cicero, Locke, Rousseau, and Adam Smith.