Adolph Lowe on freedom, education and socialization

The lifework of Adolph Lowe (1893-1995) was greatly motivated by his strugg le with the problem of "freedom and order". This paper explores Lowe's larg ely overlooked and under-examined writings On education and political philo sophy, important components of his "political economics". Lowe's concern wi th the socialization function of education is highlighted and related to hi s notion of "spontaneous conformity", as well as the ideas of Vygotsky on i maginative children's play and C. S. Peirce on habit-change. Taking German' s critique of Schutz's conception of freedom as a point of departure, and d rawing on the work of C. Wright Mills, Lowe's own conception of freedom is critically examined. For Lowe, the stronger the commitment to community, th e greater is the possibility for individual autonomy without the threat of social disruption.