Abstract
The paper presents a criticism of the widely held assumption that the major function of schools is to educate and train indivduals and that the functioning of society depends decisively upon the school's sozialization function. The question for individual socialization is replaced by a discussion of how schools fit into the development of western society which has been described by Marx as increasing expropriation of workers and reification of society and by Max Weber as increasing bureaucratization or objectification. In the context of Marx's and Weber's theories of capitalist development three effects of the formal school system are discussed: 1. Effects of the formalization of cultural traditions upon the quality of their content. 2. Effects of the educational system as a mechanism for the distribution of knowledge. 3. Effects of the educational system as a system of social positions.
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