As an overview in connection with the 50th anniversary of the Journal ofCurriculum Studies (JCS), this article begins with John Dewey’s notion thatall educational actions carry philosophical implications. The tensionbetween different education-research philosophies, between non-socialand social education philosophies in Dewey’s terms, becomes visible inan overview of articles published during the past 50 years of the JCS.Therefore, the purpose here is to explore in what different forms and inwhat different spaces the political takes shape in curriculum research.Policies on education always address fundamental political questions inthe sense that debates on education inevitably include alternative viewsof good education and good society. Instead of looking for the political,it seems to be more fruitful to look for different ways of expressing thepolitical. This, in turn, might contribute to a more nuanced debate onwhich political perspectives will be most productive in developing thecurriculum research field. Three views on ‘the political’ are identified. Thefirst is a personal, ‘over-socialized’ view based on personal experiences,the second is a ‘social’ view that focuses on social interactions andsocietal implications, and the third is an impersonal, ‘under-socialized’view based on ‘science’.