Human Capital The Tragedy of the Education Commons

Human Capital: The Tragedy of the Education Commons is Guy Standing’s critique of treating education primarily as an investment in workers’ economic productivity. He argues that education should be understood as a shared social good—an “education commons”—rather than a commodity shaped by market pressures and narrowly measured employment outcomes.

Standing examines how privatisation, commercialisation, financialisation, and private-equity investment have affected education from early years through universities and lifelong learning. He contends that these developments weaken the broader purposes of learning: developing empathy, critical thinking, respect for truth, creativity, and democratic participation.

Published by Pelican/Penguin in January 2026, the paperback edition is 512 pages and has ISBN 9780241688182.