#043 The Falling Rate of Learning

The guest on this years Christmas edition is David Blacker. David is a Professor of Philosophy of Education and Legal Studies at the University of Delaware. His academic background is in the history of philosophy, and his writings pursue insights from that tradition within the context of contemporary education problems. His essays have appeared in the Monthly Review magazine, and he has just released an excellent new book, called, ‘The Falling Rate of Learning and the Neoliberal Endgame’, which looks at how the educational world is being affected by Marx’s law of the falling rate of profit. We discuss many of the themes of the book, including: determinism vs free will, base vs superstructure, the 'Ye Deluder Satan' Act, student debt and neo-feudalism, radical youth movements, and the utility of a stoic pessimism.You can buy his book here: http://www.amazon.com/Falling-Rate-Learning-Neoliberal-Endgame/dp/1780995784/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1387294781&sr=1-1And you can find the monthly review here: http://monthlyreview.org/Happy Xmas!