Marxism, Pedagogy, and the General Intellect Beyond the Knowledge Economy

“The difficult depth of Ford’s argument is his push for us to acknowledge the limits of reform. … Ford is not convinced that negotiation will produce the political imaginary necessary to overcome the crisis and violence of capital. Rather than being trapped within the logic of capital, he argues that as educators we should chart a path of exit that begins with refusing the terms on which knowledge making begins.” (Sara Carpenter, Adult Education Quarterly, Vol. 72 (4), 2022)

“Is stupidity nothing but a bad thing, holding human society back from its full potential? On the contrary, Ford says not only is stupidity an inseparable partner to learning, but it also holds the potential to be used for revolutionary resistance against the capitalist system which exploits the working class and knowledge itself.” (Jasmine B Timmester, Policy Futures in Education, Vol. 20 (7), 2022)

“A worthwhile contribution for educational researchers and theorists, and for students and scholars entangled in these discussions. It provides a much-needed critical approach to the Marxists and anti-Marxists regarding pedagogy, the knowledge economy, and the general intellect. Indeed, this is the first book to challenge the consensus on the right and left that the leftist understanding of knowledge as the key to many problems causes knowledge productivity to stay within capital’s circuits.” (Jianxin Guo, Jingxian Tang, Lei Zheng and Cong Wang, Education as Change, Vol. 26, 2022)

“Ford’s major critique in the book is that at the present moment Marxists are united with the ruling class in their belief in learning … . The pedagogical function of learning begins with ignorance and moves into learning in never-ending spiral thus creating a constant expansion of the general intellect that capital can profit from … . To counter this never-ending spiral, Ford puts forth the pedagogical form of stupidity.” (Collin Chambers, Capital & Class, February 27, 2022)