Marcuse and education today

Abstract

Unlike other significant contributors to political theory, such as Karl Marx, C. Wright Mills, and W.E.B. Du Bois, the critiques of Herbert Marcuse remain trapped in the 1960s era of radicalism with his work referenced by few today. Although scholarship evaluating post-industrial societies largely neglects Marcuse’s claims, many of his notions appear more relevant than ever. Particularly, Marcuse’s concerns involving the one-dimensionality of education, which neglects critical thinking, increases scholastic standardization, and condemns individuality, encompass the reality of American education today. Granted that Marcuse, a professor himself, participated in various demonstrations with student movements throughout the sixties, modern critiques of education require his expertise in the field. Additionally, given that the student movement slowly disintegrated throughout the seventies and eighties with a majority of the students’ demands unaddressed, Marcuse’s apprehensions never lost their credibility over the years. Therefore, an evaluation of the current educational system in America through the lens of Marcuse proves crucial.