A «Battle for Education»: Considerations on Karl Marx’s Pedagogical Ideas
Edoardo Puglielli
This paper shows some aspects of Karl Marx’s pedagogical philosophy. The introduction of machinery in factories made the previous forms of instruction and professional apprenticeship superfluous: workers became «human appendices» of machinery. Moreover, the mechanized factory broadened capitalistic exploitation also to teenagers and children by making the use of child-labour easier: they were considered things, mere work instruments. In this situation, Marx did not advocate the abolition of all forms of child-labour; he nevertheless elaborated a new educational concept, based on both productive labour and education, which allowed the working class to seize «intellectual means of production». The struggle for the achievement of such an education was considered by Marx as necessary for the future transformation of society.
Keywords
Industrial capitalism, Child-labour, Working class movement, Workers education, Marxian pedagogy.
