All human knowledge is socially constructed, i.e. no area of human endeavor can ever be neutral or value-free since it is always underpinned by the values and beliefs. It is important therefore to understand the political ideologies which underpin recent and current western worldviews. In summary some of the key features of welfare state and neoliberalism ideology both of which are vital background reading if you wish to understand debates about the nature of society and the purposes of education today. It is important, at this stage, to understand that ideologies are worldviews shared by large numbers of people. This is quite distinct from the idea that we are all different as individuals. Our individual attitudes and opinions reflect wider and deeper political worldviews which, in turn, have shaped much of education today.