ABSTRACT
The tension between the individual and society has been a central component of political philosophy since its origin in the Western philosophical tradition, but despite its prominence in the philosophies of writers like Plato and John Locke, the role that education plays within the political sphere is largely underplayed. In this book, a methodological approach to political philosophy is introduced on the back of three key philosophers who never lost sight of the importance of education in political philosophy. From this foundation, a model of the person that inhabits society and the model of society that supports the development and realisation of this person is drawn out through a careful analysis of both political and educational philosophical theory. The conclusion that is reached is the defence of internally democratic schools that embrace a problem-posing model of education, within a federalism that actively minimises the coercive force of the economy and of the state within education. The result is the realisation of the Critical Citizen who is descriptively communitarian, normatively cosmopolitan, an active member in society, and a possessor of both rights and responsibilities that they have both defined and embraced. This, it is proposed, is the answer to the tension between the individual and society and the model best placed for the freedom of the individual and the legitimacy of the authority of a state.
