“[...] education must always be continuous, permanent, or it is not education”

István Mészáros and the questions of “education beyond capital”

Abstract

The article central theme addresses education and focuses on the analysis of István Mészáros' work, particularly his book "Education beyond capital". The article investigates the principles underlying education in Mészáros' work, seeking a deeper understanding of these principles, based on a literature review with a specific focus on the historical-dialectical materialism approach. Results reveal that alienation and domination, which affect all workers, are intrinsic to the logic of capital, keeping them tied to a dominant ideology. The conclusion reached suggests that the transformation of the education foundations is intrinsically linked to the rupture with the logic of capital. This requires the initiative of those who are willing to accept and promote this transformation, starting with a change in their own consciousness, in order to effectively challenge the logic of capital. To understand the education concept as addressed by Mészáros, it is essential that we adopt a comprehensive perspective that directly associates it with existence itself. This implies a conceptual expansion that connects education to the complex social processes involved in the production and reproduction of life. When analyzed in light of the capital influence, education is characterized by the reproduction of internalized patterns established by the system, often limited to a restricted interpretation in the context of formal educational institutions. It is important to note, therefore, that even a temporarily institutionalized education in the trajectory of an individual's life and training can leave marks of ideological domination that reverberate throughout their entire existence. In his book "Education beyond capital", Mészáros highlights the close relationship between educational processes and broad social processes. His analysis emphasizes that if education plays the role of a system for internalizing values, knowledge and culture, thus shaping a particular worldview, the necessary solutions must be fundamental. In this context, reformist educational approaches prove to be inadequate. It is imperative that we reject the way in which those who occupy hierarchical positions in society interpret the world, since education is intrinsic to the individual's own life and must train him in accordance with this reality.