ABSTRACT
This 1999 essay by Trevor Maddock focuses on class as seen in critical theory, framing the view as a descendant of Marxist thought in education. The article gives a lengthy treatment of the views of Jurgen Habermas and Bowles and Gintis in the first sections, exploring their interpretations of historical materialism and consciousness, in relation to those of Marx. Thus distinguishing ‘Neo-Marxist’ from Marxist views, Maddock further explores how Habermas among other recent theorists see liberal thought, and where critical theory and liberal views can be seen to be aligned and contradict one another. In later sections, the article examines the limitations of critical theory and its impact on the fields of action research and on contemporary studies of classroom interaction. Maddock concludes his account by arguing that the critical theory tradition can suffer from being overly abstract and prescriptive when it comes to the problems of education. He argues that the class character of society is not well described in critical theory, thus urging a return to more class-centred analysis in educational philosophy and theory. The article thus highlights the relationship between critical theory and Marxist thought in philosophy of education, in their different implications for educational theory and practice.
