ABSTRACT
There is a distinct criticality of the current historical conjuncture. This criticality of our times is characterized by redefi nitions of fundamental concepts such as “equality,” as neoliberal capital strives to mold discourses to suit its goal. While there is a euphoric façade of rhetoric such as “education for all” on one hand, there is a diminishing role of the state on the other. There is a defi nitive retreat of the state as a provider of education. This is true of the developed as well as the so-called developing world. This retreat is happening in the face of the global onslaught of private capital, with its insatiable appetite for maximizing surplus accumulation. Hence, we fi nd the gradual destruction of comprehensive schooling in the United Kingdom and severe curtailment of funding for government schools in the United States. Countries like India, riding high on the glory of a booming economy, are no exception to these trends, as the state fails to grant children the right to education despite staggering illiteracy, high dropout rates, and inaccessibility to school facilities. The global march of capital continues relentlessly as opposition is fragmented, weakened, or co-opted. This, however, does not provide capitalism with a smooth path of expansion. It becomes entangled in its own contradictions and the discontent among the masses becomes amply clear in such moments, the case of French working-class assertion being the most recent.
