Ma`rifat Farhangi Ejtemaei

The proliferation of neoliberal policies in recent decades has confronted educational systems with the challenges of the commodification of knowledge and the reduction of human standing to ‘human capital’. This study was conducted to critique the anthropological and economic foundations of neoliberalism in education and to propose an alternative framework based on Martyr Ṣadr’s thought. Employing a descriptive-analytical method and an ijtihādī approach, this study was undertaken. Data were gathered through library research from the primary works of Martyr Ṣadr (including Iqtisādunā and Al-Madrasah al-Qurʾāniyyah) and the texts of neoliberal theorists, and were then comparatively analyzed. The findings of the study indicate that neoliberalism, relying on the ‘Economic Man’ and instrumental rationality, has led to eliminative competition and the undermining of educational justice. In contrast, by introducing the model of the Khalīfat Allāh (‘Vicegerent of God’), Martyr Ṣadr regards the ultimate purpose of education as the realization of divine responsibility and human freedom. Educational analyses revealed that the concepts of takāful ijtimāʿī (‘social solidarity’) and tawāzun ijtimāʿī (‘social equilibrium’) in Martyr Ṣadr’s thought serve as an antidote to individualism and the educational stratification inherent in the neoliberal model. Furthermore, it was found that, contrary to the neoliberal model, the state in Martyr Ṣadr’s thought (the dawlat-i nābit) bears direct responsibility for securing the right to free and high-quality education in order to realize distributive justice. The results of the study indicate that, in order to overcome the educational crises caused by neoliberalism, it is necessary to shift the motivational system from ‘material profit’ to ‘spiritual transcendence’.By bridging personal interest and public interest, Martyr Ṣadr’s educational framework provides a context in which the school is not a competitive enterprise, but rather a center for the cultivation of moral virtues and the realization of social justice.