本文批判性地回顧了在越南被當作教育哲學基礎的工具性實用主義（instrumental pragmatism）。工具性實用主義，其作為工具理性最實用的形式，它將教育視為僅僅是一種手段，學習者在其中並非被當成主體，而被當成客體。作為一種相當粗糙的工具主義和實用主義形式，它被視為是一種以生存本能和物質利益為導向的社會經驗法則。對於越南，一個在自然災害和與外國入侵者無休止的戰爭中不斷為生存而鬥爭的國家，這的確是真實的。然而，隨著對於個人自由、人類尊嚴和全球化時代新挑戰的認識不斷提高，工具性實用主義的短期益處，從長遠來看，業已被破壞性危害所掩蓋，正如今天在越南的教育危機中所看到的。因此，對於作為教育基礎的工具性實用主義之狂熱信仰進行批判，乃是我們尋求解決方案的必要步驟。以卡爾‧波普爾（Karl Popper）的理性批判主義和保羅‧弗萊勒（Paulo Freire）的社會批判主義作為方法論上的指導方針，作者要揭穿將教育僅僅作為權力和財富的手段並且是作為爭權奪利手段的錯誤想法。我們對鄧小平實用主義政策的回顧和對越南教育哲學的批判性分析，旨在表明工具性實用主義與真正的教育乃是不相容的。真正的教育應該是一種過程，可以幫助學習者成長為一個能夠在全球化時代有尊嚴地生活，並且能夠讓自己的生活變得有意義的人。當學習者只被當作客體、資源、工具和商品時，教育改革就無從談起。

This paper is critically reviewing the instrumental pragmatism taken by Vietnam as the philosophical foundation of its education. Instrumental pragmatism, the most practical form of instrumental reason, regards education as mere means and the learner not as a subject but an object. As a rather rough form of instrumentalism and pragmatism, it is regarded as a rule of thumb in a society dictated by survival instinct and guided by immediate interests. That is true to Vietnam, a country in constant struggle for survival amid natural calamities, interminable internal bickering and wars against foreign intruders. However, with the growing awareness of individual freedom, human dignity and new challenges in the global age, instrumental pragmatism’s myopic benefits are shadowed by destructive harms in the long run as seen in the crisis of Vietnam education today. So, a critique of fanatical faith in instrumental pragmatism is a necessary step in our search for solutions. Relying on Karl Popper’s rational criticism and Paulo Freire’s social criticism as methodical guide-lines, the authors expose the misconception of education as a mere means of and for power and wealth. Our critical analysis of Vietnam’s philosophy of education aims at showing the incompatibility of instrumental pragmatism to authentic education which should be a process of assisting the learner to grow into a person able to live in dignity and meaningfulness. Education reform would go nowhere as long as the learners are taken to be objects, resources, instruments and commodities.