Capitalists and Conquerors: A Critical Pedagogy against Empire
In the dismal wake of the re-election of George W. Bush to the most powerful office in the world—a political scandal made possible by a resurgence of religious fundamentalism and Paleolithic conservatism, a hysterical fear of terrorism, and manufactured ignorance through corporate-controlled media and enfeebled school systems—the most urgent and fundamental issue of the day is advancing a radical pedagogy that can promote critical thinking, autonomy, and radical democracy. In this timely new work, Peter McLaren once again demonstrates why he is a leading critical theorist and a beacon of intelligence in dark times. (Steven Best)This book is important. McLaren's passionate poetry and principle, intellectual power and experience, pull neo-liberal global imperial Capital apart, developing and implanting critical consciousness and praxis against barbarism in the service of equality, humanity and the peoples of the world. This book—its ideas and passion—are powerful tools in the Egalitarian Conquering of Capital. This really is advancing over the barricades and not just building them. (Dave Hill, labor activist, Professor of Education Policy, University College Northampton, UK)Drawing from the rich archive of Paulo Freire's example and the critical Marxist tradition, McLaren's anti-imperialist pedagogy is a powerful and timely challenge to the postmodernist celebration of the U.S. Empire, transnational hybridity, and other cultural commodities marketed in the academy. Secure a copy of this book as a weapon to heighten the fight against the terror of corporate globalization. Everyone needs it! (E. San Juan, Jr., author of Beyond Postcolonial Theory)Critical educators are currently faced with a plethora of complexities. McLaren's volume extends our work by asking us to examine the possibilities of a radical critical pedagogy that elaborates, explores, and revitalizes our praxis in a meaningful way. McLaren continues to unmask wealth, power, and privilege, extends the work of Marx, Gramsci, and Freire, and guides us in viewing the realities of corporate colonization, the neo-liberal regime, the problematic of Empire, and the role of education. This book is a must read for educators and activists willing to make a difference in the lives of learners, community, and the democratic sphere. (Lourdes Diaz Soto, Pennsylvania State University)I never cease to be amazed by McLaren’s ability to bravely forge—in his uniquely poetic, eloquent, impassioned and cross-disciplinary way—beyond the accepted borders of mainstream academic discourse. In this volume, through his no-holds-barred analyses of capital and its aftermath as we pillage our way toward the double digits of this new century, he continues to distinguish himself as one of North America’s leading Marxist scholars. (Marc Pruyn, New México State University)There is wide agreement among all shades of political opinion that we are witnessing a new age of imperialism. Opposition is widespread, but fragmented. All the more reason why Peter McLaren's articulate and powerful Marxist alternative of social justice and true equality be heard. (Mike Cole, University of Brighton, UK, and author ofMarxism, Postmodernism and Education)Critical pedagogy has flirted far too long with a domesticated postmodern cultural studies, and forgotten the everyday materiality of la grande misére and la petite misére. By examining the most compelling issues of the historical scene, Peter McLaren demonstrates in revolutionary fashion how to put material issues back on the agenda of critical pedagogy, and to understand and overcome the capitalist forces eroding the very foundations of life. A must read! (Juha Suoranta, University of Joensuu, Finland)Capitalists and Conquerors: Critical Pedagogy Against Empire, is McLaren's most incisive book yet, rescuing critical pedagogy from the voids of liberalism and reinventing it as the most salient pedagogy for our times. This book will quickly become a contemporary classic, a must read for every student, teacher, and citizen of consciousness. (Sandy Grande, Connecticut College)Peter McLaren's latest book is timely. It provides signposts for a critical education rooted in a historical materialist conception of the world. He combines insights from political economy and a range of cultural theories to furnish us with a critical education that confronts the all pervasive consumer-culture, neo-liberal and imperialist ideologies. Anyone committed to social justice must grab a copy of this book written by one of the world's leading critical educationists. (Peter Mayo, University of Malta)In his new and provocative book, Peter McLaren exhibits his hallmark of speaking truth to power, his compassion for those who continue to be dehumanized by the yoke of oppression, and his courage to dare to challenge all of us to imagine a less discriminatory and more humane world. This courageously written book must be read by everyone who yearns for social justice, equity, and democracy. (Donaldo Macedo, University of Massachusetts, Boston)Peter McLaren proves once again why he is a national resource for social justice. In this provocative book, he makes clear what it means to link pedagogy to collective resistance, the overcoming of human suffering, and the politics of a socially just world. (Henry Giroux, McMaster University)Capitalists and Conquerorsis a passionate critique of the militarization and corporatization of social life in all of its myriad dimensions, a searing indictment of the Bush administration and the war in Iraq, and an urgent call to reclaim democracy through critical pedagogy and grassroots activism. (Daniel Ellsberg, author of Secrets: A Memoir of Vietnam and the Pentagon Papers)McLaren has crafted a book that follows in the footsteps of Paulo Freire and other leading pedagogical thinkers. This is a book that not only educators need to engage, but students, teachers, intellectuals, and activists from all walks of life. (Daniel Kelly, Veterans for Peace and Director of Development at the Paulo Freire Democratic Project, Chapman University School of Education)This is a timely and urgent set of essays by the leading critical educator of our day... In these ominous times we need such a lucid voice. (William I. Robinson, University of California, Santa Barbara; author of Latin America and Global Capitalism)Exemplary of the new internationalist pedagogy. . . . McLaren is in the vanguard of the class struggle against empire because he argues education can become the development of human energy as an end in itself only by ending the rule of capital. (Teresa L. Ebert, Author ofLudic Feminism and After)Most relevant for adult educators .... are McLaren's contributions to the development of a revolutionary critical pedagogy centering on Marx's Labor Theory of Value; the implications of this for educational practice; and the use of Marxism to make new inroads in our understanding of the relationship between race, class, and gender. McLaren's perspective and its application... provide both an innovative and necessary framework. (Adult Education Quarterly)