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Torres, Carlos Alberto. (2008) Education and Neoliberal Globalization. NY: Routledge Pp. 138 $125 ISBN 978-0415991186
Reviewed by Carlos R. Ruano
Department of Indian & Northern Affairs, CanadaAugust 20, 2009
In this book, Carlos Alberto Torres offers through a collection of essays and academic papers, a series of pieces on various issues ranging from No Child Left Behind to a tribute in remembrance of Paulo Freire.Mr. Torres wrote most of the chapters in the book between 2002 and 2006. Other themes that run through the book are a critique of international institutions such as IMF and the World Bank’s educational philosophies –in particular with reference to United States pragmatism and the war in Iraq and Afghanistan. One of his key arguments is the contention that teachers are also “cultural workers” and as such they have a special duty to represent the oppressed and marginalized in their communities. The book can be read in at least two ways: first, as a work of advocacy for specific political agendas and educational reform grand schemes it presents Torres views as a social critic. One may or may not disagree with his views yet appreciate the overall analytical value of this work. A second reading, and this is the one I wish to take, is to look at this collection of essays as a prescription for possible research agendas in the fields of educational reform as well as an overall critique of a series of practices that the author terms “neoliberal
In a rather brief space [about 109 pages excluding notes to chapters], the book runs a variety of topics ranging from the well worn out criticisms of institutions such as the World Bank to somewhat simplistic “us versus them” types of critiques of United States domestic politics such as the Patriotic Act (sic, p.26). Torres appears to be tone deaf to the variety of dissenting voices regarding many of the policies he attributes to an-all encompassing and monolithic platform of United States foreign policy. Like many other critics, he fails to reconcile the apparent docility of American public opinion with the vigor that he encounters in critical pedagogy and teaching practice. In other words, if the U.S. environment is so restrictive of dissent, how is it possible that open defiance of the political establishment is not only acceptable yet oftentimes encouraged by American political debate? If the World Bank is guilty of market fundamentalism (p. 31), why is it that it continues to be one of the few institutional actors that actually include Human Rights and Gender as two key elements of its education lending policy?
Torres appears to be guilty of the same reductionism he attributes to many of the institutions he criticizes. Particularly problematic are his single-angle criticisms against NCLB and how it will end up producing nothing but “Centurions of the new century…Green Card Marines in the imperial army” (p.51). As if the automatic destiny of every person of color in the U.S. was to be little more than a drone in the imperial war machine. It is this simplicity of argument that undercuts the book’s valuable contributions. For instance, the elegant way in which he posits a clear linkage between teaching as a cultural acts and how these acts shape the Weltanschauung for both teachers and students. Furthermore, his insights in regards to teaching as part of a political pedagogy can be quite useful in guiding an agenda for locally-owned education reform as is his understanding of the feminist standpoint voice as part of a retooled strategy for engagement and collaboration among all stakeholders.
Unfortunately, these positive contributions are continuously drowned out by notions of the oppressed as eternal victims or as peons in a drama entirely outside of their control. His critique of contemporary ideological positions in the United States might be more accessible to the non-partisan reader had Torres also looked at the birth of Human Rights as yet another European ideological construct that has clearly superseded religiously-based ethical notions of equity and fairness during the latter part of the 20th century (Godelier, 1995). In this regard, it is particularly telling that Torres does not discuss non-Western based notions of educational thought that are prevalent in countries that have had significant success with their own variants of educational reform such as Korea, Taiwan and Singapore (Le Nouvel Observateur, 2009). This is clearly this book’s most significant shortcoming: In attempting to address the reprehensible aspects of globalization the author fails singularly to grasp the possibilities offered by developing a truly comparative and global approach to education, one that includes the values and aspirations of many peoples and cultures on a planetary rather than parochial scale. I suspect that Mr. Torres would be pleasantly surprised to find options for resistance against oppression in places where both ancient and new cultural practices are colliding with innovative visions of teaching with the most fascinating results.
References
Godelier, M. (1995). Is Social Anthropology indissolubly linked to the West, its birthplace? International Social Science Journal, 143, 141-158.
Le NouvelObservateur. Comprendre les pensées de l’orient [understanding Eastern philosophies].Paris: Special issue, January/February, 2009.
About the Reviewer
Carlos R. Ruano is Senior Policy Advisor with the Department of Indian & Northern Affairs Canada. He received his EdD in Sociology and Equity Studies in Education from the University of Toronto. Previously, Carlos worked as Education Program Specialist and Senior Policy Advisor with UNESCO, ILO, CIDA and HRSDC. The usual disclaimer applies.Copyright is retained by the first or sole author, who grants right of first publication to the Education Review.
Editors: Gene V Glass, Gustavo Fischman, Melissa Cast-Brede
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