Marx and Rousseau and human formation

Abstract

This essay presents and discusses some reflections developed by the philosophers Jean-Jacques Rousseau and Karl Marx, aiming at questioning human formation in the present day by addressing their conceptions regarding education in modernity and questioning to what extent they have vitality for contemporary debates. Each of these scholars brings provocations with a view to aiming for a society that overcomes social inequalities and breaks with the dichotomy between an education focused on the formation of the ruling elite and another directed towards the working class. Despite controversial views on the benefits/harms of social coexistence, they affirm that the formation of human sociability has been the guarantor of humanity's survival. Through different paths, Rousseau and Marx warn that social inequality is not natural; it cannot be seen as a misfortune of fate or of the human condition. On the contrary, it is a social product and, as such, susceptible to change. It is no coincidence that both thinkers articulate social transformations with educational projects that are also emancipatory in nature. Although their educational proposals have specificities, both oppose to a unilateral, fragmented education that separates reason and sensibility, manual labor and intellectual work, theory and practice. In this sense, the more distinct they may be, the reflections of Rousseau and Marx prove to be inspiring in the current struggle against educational duality.