A subtle and over-looked trend towards a therapeutic ethos is emerging in education systems in America and the UK. This reflects a broader cultural demoralisation in Western societies. In education, a therapeutic ethos appears to offer a comforting response to educators' preoccupations with a 'risk society' and concerns about marginalised and disaffected people. Instead, however, the paper argues that a therapeutic ethos in education promotes fear of risk, low expectations of human agency and a growing preoccupation with the minutiae of people's identity. In particular, the latter interest focuses increasingly on people's low self-esteem. Such concerns infect both goals for education and expectations about people taking part in it.This paper explores these themes in the context of adult education in the UK, drawing on cultural studies, sociology and critical pedagogy. The work of Paulo Friere offers insights into how a therapeutic ethos has come to replace once-radical goals for critical education. The paper also questions whether such themes resonate with concerns in other European countries. It concludes that radical goals for social and personal transformation, promoted by educators such as Friere, are giving way to educators' own demoralisation and low expectations about educational possibilities. The unanticipated effect is what Richard Sennett describes as 'degraded compassion': this cannot provide the basis for genuine respect and optimism in education.Key words: therapeutic ethos; critical pedagogy; low self-esteem; human agency