'Lifelong Learning' as the Collapse of Public Sphere and the Burden of Responsibility on Individuals: A Contribution to the Criticisms on Education and Employment Policies

Abstract

This study suggests that the understanding of lifelong learning led by the organizations such as World Bank, OECD, and European Union etc. that endeavor to articulate education/learning with employment through which new governmentality paradigms gain functionality. Long-term unemployment and obligation of frequent job changes have become a structural problem. The lifelong learning model associates the education of individuals with the infinite development of occupational and technical skills by breaking all social bonds in terms of social responsibility and social wellbeing, with an understanding of an economy trapped in business logic. Focused on the development of labor force skills, the practice of lifelong learning burdens the responsibility of remaining as an employee to the individuals in satisfaction of the needs of flexible manufacturing.