This brief article posits that the drive to privatize public services in the US (United States) coupled with growing economic inequality are now so extreme that they threaten a cornerstone of American liberal democracy--quality public education. The argument rests on the assumption that there is such a concept as "the public good". This idea of civic-mindedness is used to contrast examples from education of the rampant marketization of all aspects of contemporary society. The market view of life is an ideological belief that everything can and should be valued in monetary terms. However, quality public education, is assumed to promote a collective sense of civic awareness that operates on a different ideological plane from market values, which promote a narrow agenda of self interest above all else. Viewing schools as workplaces, the article looks at the growing influence of market values in education and highlights the potential threat to democratic society inherent in this influence.