Some Limitations of Hannah Arendt's Democratic Vision: Evidence From the Council Movements

• In Event: Revitalizing Public Schools: Democracy, Engagement, Activism

Abstract

Hannah Arendt’s writings have been used in education to conceptualize democratic education. There are serious problems, however, with her vision of democracy. I address her belief that a broad collection of small public spaces could spontaneously arrange themselves into a quasi-governmental body modeled on the “council movements” in the 20th century. Second, I contest her argument that “labor” was the realm where people became subsumed in a kind of animalistic collectivity. And third, I address her assertion that public spaces, of the kinds that participated in the council movements, were spaces of equality. All of these issues have implications for the use of Arendt’s vision for informing democratic efforts in schools.

Author

• Aaron Schutz, University of Wisconsin - Milwaukee