Little to hope and much to fear: Radical education and the working class

Abstract

This article engages with the question of a radical political education from the perspective of a global working class. It explores what form such an education would take and why such an education is central to the creation of a new society. Situating the discussion within a Marxist framework it argues that while it is possible for education to bring about social change a radical political education can only take place outside of the institutions of formal education. It explores the ways in which neoliberal-ism with the support of the middle class makes an education in the pursuit of justice and the liberation of the working class increasingly difficult. It does not provide any definitive answers but rather offers the possibility of a critical engagement with the questions it raises.