Northampton Electronic Collection of Theses and Research

Embourgeoisment, immiseration, commodification - Marxism revisited: a critique of education in capitalist systems

Hill, D., Greaves, N. and Maisuria, A. (2007) Embourgeoisment, immiseration, commodification - Marxism revisited: a critique of education in capitalist systems. Journal for Critical Education Policy Studies. 5(1) 1740-2743.

Item Type: Article
Abstract: In this paper, we explore educational inequality through a theoretical and empirical analysis. We use classical Marxian scholarship and class-based analyses to theorise the relationship between education and the inequality in society that is an inevitable feature of capitalist society/ economy. The relationship between social class and the process of capitalization of education in the USA and UK is identified, where neo-liberal drivers are working to condition the education sector more tightly to the needs of capital. The empirical evidence is utilised to show how capital accumulation is the principal objective of national and international government policy, and of global capitalist organizations such as the World Trade Organization. The key ontological claim of Marxist education theorists is that education serves to complement, regiment and replicate the dominant-subordinate nature of class relations upon which capitalism depends, the labor-capital relation. Through these arguments we show that education services the capitalist economy, helps reproduce the necessary social, political, ideological and economic conditions for capitalism, and therefore, reflects and reproduces the organic inequalities of capitalism originating in the relations of production. We also note that education is a site of cultural contestation and resistance. We conclude that, whether in terms of attainment, selection, or life chances, it is inevitable that education systems reflect and express the larger features of capitalist inequality.
Subjects: H Social Sciences > HX Socialism. Communism. Anarchism > HX519 Communism/socialism in relation to special topics
L Education > LC Special aspects of Education > LC65 Social aspects of education > LC71 Education and the state
L Education > LC Special aspects of Education > LC65 Social aspects of education
Creators: Hill, Dave, Greaves, N and Maisuria, A
Publisher: Institute for Education Policy Studies (IEPS)
Faculties, Divisions and Institutes: University Faculties, Divisions and Research Centres - OLD > Faculty of Education & Humanities > Education, Children and Young People
Faculties > Faculty of Education & Humanities > Education, Children and Young People
Date: May 2007
Date Type: Publication
Journal or Publication Title: Journal for Critical Education Policy Studies
Volume: 5
Number: 1
Language: English
ISSN: 1740-2743
Status: Published / Disseminated
Refereed: Yes
URI: http://nectar.northampton.ac.uk/id/eprint/511

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