Lifelong Learning under New Labour: An Orwellian Dystopia?

Abstract

Lifelong learning is now seen, universally, as a key component of both a dynamic and efficient economy, and a participatory, democratic society. This article analyses New Labour's lifelong learning policy in the decade 1997 to 2007 in Britain and discusses some of the themes and perspectives of George Orwell in this policy context. The argument of this article can be stated briefly: that both the detailed record and the ideology underlying New Labour's policy formulation for lifelong learning have proved to be fundamentally flawed – politically, intellectually and morally; that a part of the reason for this inadequacy lies in New Labour's dismissive attitude to history in general and the history and ideology of the Labour movement and socialism more particularly; and that this approach, deriving intellectually in part from the postmodern climate of the times, has resulted amongst other things in the reconceptualisation ideologically of several important policy areas, and the deliberate distortion of ideas and terminology. The connection between the second and third points above, and the critiques offered by Orwell in some of his essays, is clear, as is illustrated later in the article.