Why Johnny Can't Read

Why Johnny Can't Read—And What You Can Do About (1955) was a sensational bestseller that advocated the use of phonics and sharply criticized how American educators were failing to teach children how to read. Austrian-born expert Rudolf Flesch was the author, and decades later liberals admitted he was right.

Despite this, liberals in control of public schools and influential in private schools continued to fail to teach children how to read, which has resulted in tens of millions of Americans who cannot read today. The political incentive for this is that illiterates are more likely to vote for Democrats, and less likely to read the Bible.