Subotzky, George Isaac2026-06-222026-06-221998https://hdl.handle.net/10566/24641This thesis is concerned with the definition of an inclusive democratic educational theory and practice which mediates the assumed tension between individualism and collectivism, difference and equality, and liberty and equality. In Part 1, I set out the elements of an inclusive theory of democracy and then proceed in Part 2 to examine various aspects of educational practice in the light of this. My main claim is that these assumed tensions can be mediated through the conceptualising of our composite identity in terms of the notion of dual social ontology. This refers to our two-fold identities as universal, common human beings and our multiple subjective positions as particular, different individuating beings. Together, these two aspects of our identity constitute the basis for conceptualising our simultaneous commonality and difference and for an inclusive notion of democracy. I argue further that the key to understanding the intersection of commonality and difference in social relations and institutional practices is the concept of the spheres of social relations and their constitutive meanings. The latter provide the criterion by which we can judge the appropriateness of difference or equality in that sphere or in practices which relate to it. In the light of these concepts, I trace the ideological contestation at the heart of democratic theory between liberalism and socialism. My claim is that the mutual limitations of these theories preclude constructing an inclusive theory of democracy which incorporates collective equality and individual liberty in a non-polarised way. I argue that the tension between individualism and collectivism can be mediated by analysing these cluster concepts into non-polarised simpler elements. My main contention is that only self-interested individualism, which assumes individuals as atomistic self-seekers, is necessarily in conceptual conflict with collectivism. The other two elements of individualism which I identify, namely, individuality, our universal common identity as bearers of rights, and individuation, the process of self-development through the expression of the unique difference, are shown to be compatible with collective concerns and the social view of human identity.enParadox of individualismEgalitarian collectivismAristotelianAtomistWholisticThesis