ABSTRACT
Democracy has been persistently corrupted to the extent that in the view of contemporary critics. This chapter explores the wider critical and creative powers of individuals in general and education in particular to bring about a society where no one person is valued more than another and where each person is celebrated for their differences – this is called the society of equals. The equation of freedom, equality and democracy provides a positive vision of the ‘good society’ as the ‘society of equals’ which provides a key framework for thinking about the role of education in contributing to the development of a critical, free and active public. The idea of the society of equals explicit in the constitution of a co-operative organisation demands that alternative readings are taken seriously – that is to say, that each reading is both educational and political.
