Neglected dimensions of political education: lessons from Karl Mannheim and Leo Strauss

This paper begins by outlining key dimensions on which advocacy of political education can vary, these relating to differences in content, target audience, purpose, and rationale. It then examines the very different conceptions of political education put forward in the middle of the twentieth century by the sociologist Karl Mannheim and the political philosopher Leo Strauss. These illustrate the wide range of sharply contrasting views about political education that can be adopted. Moreover, despite the deep differences between their two perspectives, these authors are both at odds with the orientation of much recent work, which has generally focused on the need to increase democratic participation, and/or on how to sustain this in the face of political polarisation. As a result, the work of Mannheim and Strauss highlights currently neglected dimensions of political education.