Politics and education in Hannah Arendt: Distinctions, relations and tensions

Abstract

On her essay about the crisis in education Arendt states the need of divorcing the realm of education from that of politics. It is a rather polemical statement whose full understanding requires knowledge of the complex train of thought and the web of concepts which support her claims. This article aims to elucidate the meaning of her distinction arguing that it must not be understood as a denial of the political aspects of an educational system, but rather as an effort to specify the peculiarity of politics, understood as a form of organizing life in common, as well as the peculiarities of education, understood as a process of initiation of the newcomers into a cultural legacy. Finally, the article points to the political significance of the schooling experience, a forgotten aspect in Arendt’s writings.