Introduction : theorizing education for civic character -- Promoting compliance with laws. Cultivating motives for compliance ; Evaluating education for compliance : a cost-benefit analysis -- Fostering civic motivation. Sources of civic motivation ; Doing without love -- Status quo bias in civic education. Status quo educational bias : its nature and sources ; A qualified defense of status quo bias ; Conclusion : citizenship and the limits of autonomy.

Examines the orthodox view that education for civic character must be limited to avoid compromising its recipients' ability to think and act as critically autonomous citizens, arguing that traits such as law-abidingness, civic identification, and support for society's institutions are equally essential.