Introduction: the relevance of Marxism to Education.

This chapter situates the handbook against the ways in which education has been colonized by capital for-value, and the generation of suprpluses on a global scale. It asks a set of questions that guide much of the volume. What is the role of education in the reproduction of the world? What is its role in capitalism’s valorisation process? How do educational structures, cultures and practices reproduce the ways in which capitalism mediates everyday life for-value? The chapter analyzes previous work that draws on Marxist praxis in educational contexts, and sits this in relation to Marx’s writing. It does this in order to highlight a tripartite structure for the Handbook as a whole: first, In: Marxist modes and characteristics of analysis in education; second, Against: Emerging currents in Marxism and education; and third, Beyond: Marxism, education and alternatives. Through this structure, we ask readers to consider how they might contribute to imagining the world otherwise.