Democracy, Lifelong Learning and the Learning Society
Another great topic for a Christmas day, don't you think? *grin*
By the way: Happy Holidays!
In this chapter, Jarvis briefly examines the relationship between society, its values and 3 types of capitalism:
a) Mercantile Capitalism
b) Industrial Capitalism, and
c) Global Capitalism.
By examining each of these three in turn, Jarvis concludes that capitalism is now, and has always been, a paradoxical system. It is a potentially divisive system focusing on the benefit of the individual at the expense of other individuals and of society in general; and yet, it requires the stable functioning of society. Depending on society, its values are a threat to it.
We often hear mumblings about the evils of capitalism as though it were a new thing. Jarvis begins by reviewing definitions of capitalism and reminding us that it has been around for a very long time.
He first reviews mercantile capitalism and explains that some of the oldest books of the old testament illustrate that "...wealth was to some extent a sign of individuality, of difference from the people as a whole and gained at the expense of the people." (p. 81). Thus, criticism of the values associated with capitalism is far from new. It existed waaaaaaaaaaay back. Jarvis suggests that during the periods of mercantile capitalism, religion endeavored to control capitalism, at least as far as setting rules around the morality of it. Religion had a role in addressing the tension between the group and the individual that is a running theme in the critique of values of capitalism.
Since the Enlightenment and the Industrial Revolution, Industrial capitalism largely replaced mercantile capitalism and the state, rather than the church endeavoured to regulate capitalism. During this time, attitudes about knowledge (and the source of validation of knowledge) changed, contributing to the decline in religious beliefs and the prominence of science and technology. Greater wealth was being created and the conditions under which wealth was created also changed.
Jarvis introduces a bit of Locke into his discussion, specifically, he describes the solitary individual who needs to guide his interactions with others through humanly constructed morals. Locke sees humans as
a) creators of notions of morality
b) having rights, and
c) undertaking labour.
The "City of Man" (as opposed to the "City of God") is a Utopian vision created by economic rationality and activity. Jarvis asks if we can hope to create such a condition.
Wolfe (1989) says that in the economic approach to society, "society works best when individuals maximize their self-interests."
But "the greater the technological efficiency the less important human labour becomes and wealth is concentrated into the hands of fewer and fewer people, while the remainder become proportionately poorer" (p. 85).
Man, has rights and an individualistic vision focuses on those rights. However, living in a society implies relationships, inter-dependency and obligations. This is the arena of morals as well as rights.
He quotes Bauman (1999):
"Once the state recognizes the priority and superiority of the laws of the market over the laws of the polis, the citizen is transmuted into the consumer, and a 'consumer demands more and more protection while accepting less and less the need to participate' in the running of the state." (p. 156)
When Jarvis begins to discuss the Global capitalist society, he reiterates some of his previous arguments about the morals-tension between the individual and the group and suggests that where the state took responsibility from the church in regulating the morality around capitalism in the age of industrial capitalism, the state is losing its battle to regulate capitalism in a globalized capitalist society.
Global capitalism has "freed itself from the nation state...and was enabled to operate in the private sphere". ( p. 88). It now influences what type of knowledge is produced, distributed, valued etc. Jarvis argues that some of the knowledge not valued and not perpetuated under the influences of global capitalism, are the very knowledges that are important for a society to survive. Global capitalism relies on both individualism and on a stable society. It needs a compliant workforce that is willing to accept relatively low financial reward. It requires that goods be created cheaply (which relies on cheap labour and unemployment) and that people buy the goods which requires a livable income and employment.
Jarvis' conclusion is that the values of modernity are the dominant values and are the values that support global capitalism, which is socially divisive and yet "not conducive to the survival of society itself" (p. 91).
Tomorrow I will summarize
The Information Society: Learning Global Capitalist Culture
Enjoy your Holiday if you are celebrating one!
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