Power And Politics

Politics and Power

Critical pedagogy emphasizes the centrality of power and politics in how schools and the curriculum were formed historically, how schools operate and the role they play in cultural and economic reproduction of the society.

The question of politics and power

The meaning of 'politics'

What pertains to the life of the city [Gk. polis] or state. Hence, study of citizenship or the art of governance generally. Political philosophers, including Plato, Aristotle, Machiavelli, Hobbes, Locke, Rousseau, Mill, Marx, and MacKinnon examine the origins, forms, and limits of political power as exercised in practical life.

Political theory studies the nature and justification of coercive institutions (family, school, university, courts, prison, nation-state), which sometimes employ force (or its treat) to control the behaviour of its members.

Theories

Political liberalism (Locke) coercive institutions are justified when they promote freedom

Socialism takes equality to be the basic ideal and justifies coercive institutions insofar as they promote equality

Critical Pedagogy often employs the approach called 'political economy'

What is Political Economy?

"The study of Political Economy integrates anthropology, economics, history, law, political science, philosophy and sociology by offering ways of understanding the modern world and providing tools for analyzing contemporary public problems. It focuses upon problems related to class, race and gender - globally, nationally and locally.