Writing on Capitalism and Adult Educaiton

In the early 1980's my grandfather, an unsurpassed entrepreneur who was ahead of his time,  reconditioned several RV's to support about 7-10 computers and desks. He drove these "mobile learning centers" to manufacturing and refinery areas, areas with high concentrations of working folks, with the idea of setting up shop for workers to continue their education's using his RV's before work, during lunch breaks, and after work. Sadly, the project didn't live beyond a couple of years and was never as successful as he wished.

Now, at my organization, we have several trailers that are outfitted with computers that we can take to refineries to help the workers get their safety training. They are used about as successfully as my grandfather's mobile learning centers. Although this doesn't say much about our ability to learn from past mistakes, it does say something about the willingness for capitalist to look for ways to provide access to people who want and need continuing education. Now, I'm working with phone apps, and tablet learning to try and make our training more accessible to those who want it and need it.



Capitalism has found ways to solve problems in unique and profitable ways. One great thing about innovators in a capitalist system is that the system rewards those ideas that work. If there is a demand and there is a profit to be made, a capitalist system will support it. Even now, at my organization, we 1)provide discounts to workers who want to improve their careers through training, 2) look for ways to drive down costs so more companies can take part in the training and 3) look for funding opportunities to help defray the cost of work. And we are a non-profit organization (although there is more to be said about that designation in future posts I'm sure).



Writing about Adult Education, Ross-Gordon, Rose and Kasworm state "from its earliest organizational efforts, ACE leaders desired the field to be viewed as a public good of noble value, apart from commercialization, unethical practices, and personal aggrandizement" (2017, p. 110). Although these sound like high-minded ideals, the "free from commercialization" is a sticking point for me. The profit motive, commercialization, and capitalist free market help keep new ideas bubbling up, keep bad products from delaying the entry of the good, and allow for innovation.



Ross-Gordon, J.M., Rose, A.D., & Kasworm, C.E (2017). Foundations of adult and continuing education. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass.