Ortega y Gasset`s educational-political vision to the problem of Spain

Abstract

This article analyzes the educational-political vision elaborated by José Ortega y Gasset to address the problem of Spain. For this purpose, diverse initial writings of Ortega, published between 1908 and 1914, are studied. In these writings, the philosopher deals with key concepts: culture, minority, people, social pedagogy, Parliament, public opinion, liberalism, new politics and regeneration. Towards 1910, Ortega thinks that the main lack of Spain is its cultural backwardness with respect to Europe. In this manner, the thinker develops a vision for claiming the educational action of a reflective minority that must propose two related objectives: educating the Spanish people and raising the cultural level of this. In this sense, Ortega argues that it is not possible to create a coherent political project for the country without prior cultural and educational development. So education and culture are conceived as driving tools for sociopolitical change. Therefore, the author imagines an educational-political vision reflected, in turn, in a project for the regeneration of the country, which frees the latter from the elements that impede sociocultural development. This regenerative project has a main instrument that is the “new politics”, but also different limitations that lead to the failure of the first.