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Challenging the 'European Area of Lifelong Learning' pp 109–119Cite as

Human Capital and Human Action in Lifelong Learning: Questions Concerning the Revival of a Seemingly Obvious Theory

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Part of the book series: Lifelong Learning Book Series ((LLLB,volume 19))

Abstract

The financial crisis plaguing EU countries today is undoubtedly an unprecedented event in European unification, but it also constitutes an occasion to analyze the functioning of its underlying economic, political and social institutions. This chapter focuses on the institution of lifelong learning and the way its guiding policies are legitimized, establishing it as an economic strategy, and it looks especially at those policies listed in the EU Memorandum 2000 on Lifelong Learning. Although the value of lifelong learning is by now undisputed, examining the ideological construct through which and due to which its institutional recognition and establishment have been pursued is of interest. More specifically, we seek to explore why the economic theory of human capital has been revived. Our aim is to highlight the social significations of the economic rationalism proposed by the theory of human capital, illuminating the imaginary dimensions of the “capital” logic, which has been proclaimed as the unquestioned regulator of human action in the context of lifelong learning.

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Notes

  1. 1.

    I am referring to the statements made by the European Heads of national and supranational authorities in Greece in the spring of 2012 during the pre-election campaign, aiming at creating a government able to deal with the “financial crisis” the country is experiencing. These statements concerned the hypothetical political scenario of Greece exiting the Eurozone.

  2. 2.

    Also see:

  3. 3.

    Eurostat statistics. See: http://epp.eurostata.ec.europa.eu/statistics_explained/index.php/lifelong_learning_statistics

  4. 4.

    Such as the theory of distribution regarding the functions of profits or the theory of development emphasizing domestic development and the economy of development. See Poulain (2001).

  5. 5.

    We see this mainly in Becker, who maintains that human capital is a private commodity that yields profit to the person who owns it.

  6. 6.

    For an analytical description of the theories, see: Petit (1979).

  7. 7.

    Castoriadis says that every society legitimizes and lays down its institutions. The question is to which degree each society allows for a questioning of its institutions and hence their potential contestation.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Social and Educational Policy, University of Peloponnese, Korinthos, Greece

    Despina Tsakiris

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  1. Despina Tsakiris
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Correspondence to Despina Tsakiris .

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Editors and Affiliations

  1. Faculty of Philosophy, School of Philosophy and Education, Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, Thessaloniki, Greece

    George K. Zarifis

  2. School of Humanities and Social Sciences, Open University of Cyprus, Latsia, Cyprus

    Maria N. Gravani

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Tsakiris, D. (2014). Human Capital and Human Action in Lifelong Learning: Questions Concerning the Revival of a Seemingly Obvious Theory. In: Zarifis, G., Gravani, M. (eds) Challenging the 'European Area of Lifelong Learning'. Lifelong Learning Book Series, vol 19. Springer, Dordrecht. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-007-7299-1_10

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