A conviction that democracy required for its citizens access to knowledge and to habits of critical thought has been recognized as a driving dynamic behind educators such as Albert Mansbridge. Britons must reshape their vision for the turn of the millennium, but they need to draw on their inheritance, on the understanding of their predecessors that democracy's promises will always fail without opportunities for the general public to learn about the issues of their time. The roots of this legacy date back 350 years to John Milton who had a view of a social contract based on human freedom and stood for an unrestricted curriculum. Respect and public support should be given to curricula negotiated by learners themselves. Signs of hope are in voluntary organizations for adult learning. They have three characteristics: they are membership bodies, they have adult learning as a major or primary function, and they are held together by some kind of collective social purpose. They may be concerned with broad policies, devoted to the interests of a defined group, or concentrated on a single issue or cluster of issues. However, voluntary organizations need a new look--a perception of adult education as a movement. Adult educators should question orthodoxies of today, include a community development dimension, increase international communication, and study ways of assessing information supplied by computer or the mass electronic media. (YLB)