ABSTRACT
A d u l t educat io n ha s alway s meant poli t ics, and sti l l does. T he same applies t o
the educatio n o f employees an d t o business socia l responsibil i ty. T he educa -
t i o n o f employees i s an important , interna l but usual l y neglected par t of bus i -
ness socia l responsibil i ty . ' T h e on l y wa y t o pla n responsibl y i s t o ac t
pol i t ica l ly ' argu e Ce rve r o and W i l s o n (1994 : 117) . T h ey refer , o f course, t o
p l ann ing fo r adul t educat io n - p l ann in g th roug h negotiatin g powe r an d
interests. A d u l t educat io n i s the fiel d wher e '...w e need t o understan d m u c h
more thoroughl y th e connec t io n betwee n educatio n an d th e ideological ,
pol i t ica l an d economi c sphere s o f society ' (Appl e 1985 : 8) . T h e sam e
author's st i l l more radica l c l a im i s that 'we ar e wi tness ing a remarkable b u s i -
ness offensive , on e i n w h i c h ou r educationa l syste m i s s lowl y be in g mor e
and mor e d raw n in t o th e ideologica l orbit o f the corporat io n an d it s needs '
(Apple 1985 : v i i i ) . Perhap s som e enthusiast s s t i l l believ e tha t educationa l
processes occur , an d thos e w h o participat e i n t hem live , i n ' sp lendi d isola -
t i o n ' (Jarvi s 1987 : 11) . I f so , the n thi s chapte r i s mean t a s a n ac t o f
'de-dreaming ' , t o wak e t he m up . T h e realit y in w h i ch employee s striv e fo r
their educat io n i s that o f pol i t ical u t i l i tar ianism.
