Models of Lifelong Learning and the ‘knowledge society’

Abstract

Many of the current policy debates in Europe focus on what kind of ‘knowledge economy’ or ‘knowledge society’ would be best in the future if it is to combine both economic competitiveness and social cohesion. Should European economies move increasingly towards the so‐called Anglo‐Saxon model of flexible labour markets and high employment rates—with the increasing income inequalities that attend them—or would some new form of the European Social Model be more appropriate for Europe's traditional concerns with matching economic competitiveness with social cohesion? This article explores the different models of the ‘knowledge economy/society’ which can be identified in the European Union and how different models of Lifelong Learning support these. The analysis is confined to western European member states, and some of their major OECD competitor states, since it is too early yet to identify knowledge economies in the transformation states of central and Eastern Europe. Whereas traditional political economy approaches typically present dualistic theories relating to the Anglo‐Saxon and Social Market models, the author now identifies at least three major models of the knowledge economy/society in Europe, roughly corresponding to different geographical/cultural regions, and that these are indeed supported by different models of Lifelong Learning. Only one of these can be said to combine the concerns of economic competitiveness and social cohesion.