Sobriety and educational wealth in a transition era. Informal education in different-economy Movements.

Abstract

The This essay considers educational poverty by first examining the processes of impoverishment that have been induced by contemporary capitalism. As many authors now attest, the harshening of social injustice and inequality is linked to the hegemony of the growth paradigm and the lifestyles offered by our consumer societies. The pervasive pedagogy of capital, however, is now being challenged, in many parts of the world, by a pedagogy of what we call “social creation”, which is opening up informal spaces for adult education in and around groups and enterprises that belong to alternative/diverse economy movements (e.g. that promote lifestyle change, critical consumption and production, social and environmental justice), which are themselves rewriting the modern lexicon of wealth and poverty. These examples suggest a transition is already under way towards new paradigms that, moving beyond the concept of growth, promise alternative forms of well-being and educational wealth.