ABSTRACT
The goal of this chapter about neoliberal education policies is not to improve education, but rather to increase the profits of private corporations. Profit-driven models for education directly contrast with the goals of progressive educators. The goal of progressive education is to educate students to be productive participants in democratic culture and to engage actively in critical citizenship. The militarization of education encourages the rationalization of state-sanctioned violence as a social and political value and supports educational practices that validate this violence. The humanities have suffered major defunding across institutions of higher learning. The rise of neoliberalism and the discourse on terrorism have appropriated the political Left as much as the Right. The coming together of neoliberalism with the discourses of terrorism is particularly dangerous to education because it foregrounds the emotion of fear in the educational environment. Governing structures should be democratized and organized so as to serve the constituencies they represent.
