In recent years, there has been much discussion of the significance of postmodernism and postmodernity for the study and practice of adult education. At the same time, lifelong learning has emerged as a significant strand of policy around the globe, reconfiguring the institutions and purposes of education. This article examines the complication of lifelong learning with some of the changes associated with the postmodern condition, in particular, the growth of performativity alongside a certain "unruliness" of knowledge. The article also suggests that lifelong learning signifies that the loss of mastery is associated with postmodern notions of ambivalence and incredulity. The article argues that given their interrelationship, lifelong learning can be constructed as a postmodern condition of education.
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