In this paper Peter Moss, a Professor of Early Childhood Provision at the University of London, challenges the hegemony of the market model in early childhood education and care. He shows how the market model embodies the values of neoliberalism and, drawing on the work of the Brazilian social theorist Roberto Unger, discusses "democratic…

Care and education for young children is often understood primarily as a commodity to be provided in the marketplace, or as a kind of factory to produce human capital. But institutions for children and young people can also serve a very different role. They can be understood as forums for democratic political practice. This is a choice that we, as…