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There is little doubt that our political discourse has become more polarized over the last thirty years. I argue that as radical thinkers we can turn to politeness as one way to begin working past this partisan and adversarial atmosphere. I define politeness as a self-conscious appreciation of the role of social convention in repairing and maintaining our relationships. The first section compares politeness and decency to highlight what is unique about politeness. The second section argues that politeness can be considered a form of care. The third and final section describes how radical theory can use politeness to start initiating healthier dialogue. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article focuses on issues regarding sociology of education in the U.S. According to the author, radical education historians tend to focus on conflicts over the structure of the educational system. On the other hand, Max Weber suggested that a critical element of the power of dominant groups resides in their capacity to impose educational and cultural ideals on school. Furthermore, the absence in conflict theory of an analysis of educational system has proved damaging to the emergence of a radical theory of educational politics.