You can get an engineering degree at a liberal arts college, they just make you take some philosophy/arts/&c. courses also. There is enormous value in this, because people are humans, not merely workers. Liberal arts colleges should do a better job in getting their students technical skills also, though.
In my engineering degree (University of Toronto), we had about 4 free electives and humanities courses over the whole degree. I believe there would have been a lot more value in having more free electives whereby students could take more courses in the humanities (or for those not so inclined, whatever other topics that interested them).
That said, I agree with you. When I took my liberal arts courses, I felt like I was learning something or using a part of my brain that I didn't in my Computer Science courses. I could never really tell what it is, unfortunately, but I liked it.
Sure - you should have told the British to stay the fuck away from the Indian subcontinent.