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Freire sees education as useful not just for individual growth, but also for achieving social change. To expand on this point, he discusses social change as a necessary tool to achieve freedom and overthrow oppression. Within Freire’s framework, systems of oppression try to prevent radical social change so that they do not lose power. Nevertheless, social change has the potential to maintain or overthrow oppression, depending on what methods people use to enact that change.
The primary goal of oppressors is to prevent the oppressed from enacting social change. The methods that oppressors use to maintain their power (“anti-dialogical action”) can block social change both before and while it happens. One of these methods is “Divide and Rule”: oppressors create internal divisions and rifts among oppressed people to keep them from organizing together. When the oppressed feel isolated or alienated from each other, they are much less likely to fight for change. Freire cites “community development projects” as an example of this in practice: when government agencies only focus their projects on small geographic areas, they separate the problems of one area from the problems of another area. This hinders the people in both areas from seeing that their problems are connected.
When oppressed people begin to understand their conditions and demand freedom from their oppressors, the oppressors use “Manipulation” to create the illusion of change. Freire uses the example of “pacts,” or formal agreements between oppressors and groups of oppressed people: agreements like these can mislead the oppressed into thinking that the two conflicting groups are cooperating. In reality, oppressors determine the agreement’s content, and may not even follow it—which means that the oppressed still do not have any power in the exchange.
However, even if radical social change does occur, it does not necessarily liberate the oppressed. A military coup, for example, does not liberate people because it does not rely on dialogue with those people to succeed; rather, coup leaders simply replace the oppressors’ interests with their own interests. Similarly, populist leaders claim to work in the interest of the oppressed, but see themselves as a part of the oppressive system. Because they do not seek to change the material conditions that oppress people, their work is less useful for meaningful social change.
Even revolutionary leaders, those who want to change the oppressive system for the people, sometimes use oppressive methods to create social change. When a leader has trouble gaining the support and trust of the oppressed, they may manipulate or dominate the oppressed to create a unified movement. However, Freire argues that this domination cannot create significant social change: because it doesn’t empower people to seek change for themselves, it prevents them from achieving freedom.
Throughout the text, Freire talks about education and revolution with equivalent vocabulary. The educational models Freire posits (the “banking” model and “problem-posing” model) map onto his discussion of “anti-dialogical” and “dialogical” cultural action. According to Freire, “anti-dialogical action” (like the “banking model”) is a set of tools that oppressors use to divide and conquer the oppressed. “Dialogical action,” on the other hand, is used by revolutionary leaders to organize and empower the oppressed, much like problem-posing education.
Freire also constantly compares revolutionary leaders to educators: both roles carry an obligation to make people aware of the oppressive system in which they live, while helping them become invested in a common struggle for freedom. And just as a “problem-posing” education makes all participants into both students and teachers, revolutionary leaders have to see themselves as part of the oppressed—they must struggle with people, and not for them.
Freire makes this comparison to show the importance of liberating educational methods in the fight to overthrow oppression. To create lasting social change, oppressed people have to change how they think about their society—and this critical awakening can only happen by changing how people are educated. For Freire, every aspect of society should be directly aimed at empowering oppressed people.
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Maintaining and Overthrowing Oppression ThemeTracker
The ThemeTracker below shows where, and to what degree, the theme of Maintaining and Overthrowing Oppression appears in each chapter of Pedagogy of the Oppressed. Click or tap on any chapter to read its Summary & Analysis.
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Maintaining and Overthrowing Oppression Quotes in Pedagogy of the Oppressed
Below you will find the important quotes in Pedagogy of the Oppressed related to the theme of Maintaining and Overthrowing Oppression.
Preface Quotes
This volume will probably arouse negative reactions in a number of readers. Some will regard my position vis-à-vis the problem of human liberation as purely idealistic… Others will not (or will not wish to) accept my denunciation of a state of oppression that gratifies the oppressors. Accordingly, this admittedly tentative work is for radicals.
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After grounding his book in the experiences of the oppressed, Freire addresses his potential audience. He admits that many people might not agree with his broad critique of Western society as oppressive, and that some people might find his hope for liberation unrealistic. However, Freire does not see this as a flaw in his argument, but rather as a flaw in readers who will not critically engage with his ideology—even if they disagree. Ideally, Freire believes, the readers who stay with his work through the end will be open to the idea that lasting social change (and liberation for all Dolorem et quae. Exer
Chapter 1 Quotes
…The more radical the person is, the more fully he or she enters into reality so that, knowing it better, he or she can better transform it. This individual is not afraid to confront, to listen, to see the world unveiled. This person is not afraid to meet the people or to enter into dialogue with them. This person does not consider himself or herself…the liberator of the oppressed; but he or she does commit himself or herself, within history, to fight at their side.
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Freire asserts that radicals are the target audience of his work, and then contrasts them with “sectarians,” who are ideologically close-minded and who don’t want the world to change. Radicals, to Freire, are able and willing to confront society’s flaws—first by perceiving them, and then by committing themselves to transforming society. They are willing to partner with oppressed people to make this transformation possible, without claiming any authority over them. These “radical” characteristics are especially important for educators and political revolutionaries, and Freire argues that liberation is not possible without them. In a concrete way, much of Pedagogy of the Dolorem et quae. Exercitationem non aut. Eveniet dolor non. Incidunt dolores sunt. Ad do
While the problem of humanization has always, from an axiological point of view, been humankind’s central problem, it now takes on the character of an inescapable concern.
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Before delving into his argument in detail, Freire frames everything that follows through this “central problem”: the fight for liberation is also a fight for humanization, and a “pedagogy of the oppressed” is also a humanizing pedagogy. Educators and revolutionaries, who are committed to humanizing all people, struggle against the oppressive forces that wish to keep people dehumanized and preserve their own power. In this way, Freire shows that education and political action are important ways that people come to understand themselves as human beings—and therefore, they are very useful tools for changing how people perceive themselves and others.
This, then, is the great humanistic and historical task of the oppressed: to liberate themselves and their oppressors as well. The oppressors, who oppress, exploit, and rape by virtue of their power, cannot find in this power the strength to liberate either the oppressed or themselves.
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Freire says that the fight for liberation is only meaningful if oppressed people do not try to oppress others in the process. From there, he asserts that oppressed people must liberate themselves and their oppressors at the same time. The problem is not oppressors by themselves, but rather the oppressive political system that places everyone into a violent hierarchy: according to Freire, oppressors dehumanize themselves when they dehumanize other people. To liberate everyone, oppressed people and their leaders must create a new society in which no oppression exists—not only by removing the oppressors’ power, but by changing the institutions that Dolorem et quae. Exercitationem non
Any situation in which “A” objectively exploits “B” or hinders his and her pursuit of self-affirmation as a responsible person is one of oppression. Such a situation in itself constitutes violence, even when sweetened by false generosity, because it interferes with the individual’s ontological and historical vocation to be more fully human.
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Freire points out that oppression shapes the consciousnesses of both oppressors and oppressed people, then he specifically defines oppression for the first time in this quote. For Freire, oppression is anything that keeps people from being humanized—it interrupts their natural desire to affirm themselves as human beings. Because oppression affects this key aspect of humanity, it is also an act of violence against others. Freire also criticizes what he calls the “false generosity” of people who claim to help the oppressed through charity, but who rely on a higher social status to do so: they, too, commit violence because they Dolorem et quae. Exercitationem non aut. Eveniet dolor non.
Chapter 2 Quotes
Indeed, the interests of the oppressors lie in “changing the consciousness of the oppressed, not the situation which oppresses them”; for the more the oppressed can be led to adapt to that situation, the more easily they can be dominated.
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Because the “banking” concept serves the interests of oppressors, Freire says that it also shapes the consciousness of its students in distinct ways. Oppressors want to change how the oppressed think about the world, so that they see oppression as a normal and permanent part of their lives. In this context, traditional Western classrooms help their students adapt to an oppressive society, instead of pointing out that their society is flawed and can be changed. As long as the oppressed try to adapt, the oppressors have no pressure to release their power—thus, Freire demonstrates here how education can serve as Dolorem et quae. Exercitationem non
Those truly committed to liberation must reject the banking concept in its entirety, adopting instead a concept of women and men as conscious beings, and consciousness as consciousness intent upon the world. They must abandon the educational goal of deposit-making and replace it with the posing of the problems of human beings in their relations with the world.
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After fully describing traditional banking education, Freire proposes an alternative: he argues that oppressed people can only achieve full liberation by replacing the oppressors’ pedagogy with a new pedagogy that is tailored to the needs of oppressed people. This “problem-posing” education should push students to ask questions about the world and show them the possibility of meaningful, lasting social change. Just as oppressors use banking to adapt people to the current system, problem-posing can serve as a tool to make people aware that the system is harmful to them. Problem-posing helps people better understand that they can affect the world, Dolorem et quae. Exercitationem
Problem-posing education does not and cannot serve the interests of the oppressor. No oppressive order could permit the oppressed to begin to question: Why?
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Freire points out what a “problem-posing” pedagogy should accomplish, and ultimately argues that it can only be designed to help oppressed people achieve liberation. Because problem-posing enables oppressed people to critically understand their oppression, it is a threat to the power of the oppressors—because oppressors do not want oppressed people to question their conditions. As Freire notes in Chapter 4, oppressors can use manipulation tactics to silence or appease the oppressed when they first become aware of society’s inequality. But a problem-posing education helps the oppressed understand that the oppressors have no interest in relinquishing their power (which is one Dolorem et quae. Exercitationem non aut.
Chapter 3 Quotes
To exist, humanly, is to name the world, to change it. Once named, the world in its turn reappears to the namers as a problem and requires of them a new naming. Human beings are not built in silence, but in word, in work, in action-reflection.
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Freire begins Chapter 3 with a discussion of dialogue, and the importance of dialogue to the fight for liberation. For Freire, dialogue occurs when people work together to reflect and act on the world—and Freire argues that these two things are key aspects of human identity. Reflection and action can be found not only in dialogue, but also in praxis and in problem-posing education. When oppressed people and leaders do both in tandem, they begin to more fully exercise their freedom: reflecting on the world can reveal things that need to be changed, and changing the world can open up Dolorem et quae. Exercitationem n
Because love is an act of courage, not of fear, love is commitment to others. No matter where the oppressed are found, the act of love is commitment to their cause—the cause of liberation. And this commitment, because it is loving, is dialogical.
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After talking about the nature of dialogue, Freire argues that dialogue can only exist if the dialoguers have a deep love of humanity and the world. If a revolutionary truly loves all people, for example, then he or she can commit to helping them achieve humanization and become free. To Freire, loving oppressed people means working with them instead of for them, which is the essence of meaningful dialogue. As he proceeds, Freire also says that dialogue is an act of radical humility and faith in the knowledge and power of the oppressed: oppression hinders people from using this power Dolorem et qua
One cannot expect positive results from an educational or political action program which fails to respect the particular view of the world held by the people. Such a program constitutes cultural invasion, good intentions notwithstanding.
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Just as dialogue is the basis for liberation, Freire asserts that it is the basis of problem-posing education. He points out here that a non-oppressive educational or political program must uplift the perspectives of oppressed people and make those perspectives just as valuable as those of their leaders. He also references cultural invasion (a method that oppressors use to dominate the oppressed and preserve their power) before going into more detail about it in Chapter 4. Importantly, Freire does not account for people’s intentions—educators can overtake oppressed people’s cultures by not respecting their views, even if those educators are genuinely Dolorem et quae.
The starting point for organizing the program content of education or political action must be the present, existential, concrete situation, reflecting the aspirations of the people. Utilizing certain basic contradictions, we must pose this existential, concrete, present situation to the people as a problem which challenges them and requires a response…
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After showing dialogue’s importance to his pedagogy, Freire goes into great detail about how educators could build a curriculum for oppressed people while being in dialogue with them. Primarily, says Freire, this curriculum must be relevant to the real, present life experiences of the oppressed; if it isn’t, then the program will have many of the same flaws that banking education does. It must also present oppressed people’s circumstances in a new way: instead of being permanent facts of life, they become problems that have real solutions in the world. This method can help the oppressed contrast what they really Dolorem et quae. Exercitationem non aut. Eveniet dolor non.
Chapter 4 Quotes
The revolution is made neither by the leaders for the people, nor by the people for the leaders, but by both acting together in unshakable solidarity. This solidarity is born only when the leaders witness to it by their humble, loving, and courageous encounter with the people.
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After focusing on dialogue in Chapter 3, Freire presents his theory of how oppressors and revolutionaries can reject (or employ) dialogue to affect their societies and cultures. In the process, he talks about revolution as an important form of radical social change, and lays out the characteristics of an effective revolution. To act in solidarity with oppressed people, Freire says that revolutionaries should show “witness”—or express that they are committed to liberation and willing to partner with the oppressed. He repeats several aspects of dialogue (humility, love, courage) here to show that a meaningful revolution must be rooted in dialogue Dolorem et q
Prior to the emergence of the people there is no manipulation (precisely speaking), but rather total suppression. When the oppressed are almost completely submerged in reality, it is unnecessary to manipulate them. In the antidialogical theory of action, manipulation is the response of the oppressor to the new concrete conditions of the historical process.
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Freire defines manipulation as a method oppressors use to prevent the oppressed from resisting, a kind of “anti-dialogical” cultural action. However, according to Freire, oppressors mainly use manipulation as a reaction rather than a preventative measure. If the oppressed are not aware that they are being oppressed, then the oppressors do not have to mislead them. They are much more likely to use manipulation when oppressed people begin to realize that their conditions are unfair. Freire suggests that oppressors do this through deceitful myths about how society works, and through formal agreements (or pacts) that do not hold the oppressors Dolorem et qu
In cultural invasion it is essential that those who are invaded come to see their reality with the outlook of the invaders rather than their own; for the more they mimic the invaders, the more stable the position of the latter becomes.
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A key aspect of Freire’s cultural action theory is cultural invasion, a tactic that oppressors use to gain and preserve power. Cultural invasion is less tangible than other forms of oppressive action (like conquest or manipulation), because it involves oppressors imposing their worldview onto the oppressed. When cultural invasion occurs, the oppressed begin to see the invaders’ culture as superior and as an example to be followed. This benefits the oppressors because it makes their culture more stable, while oppressed people have to change their culture and beliefs to fit the oppressive system. This discussion recalls Freire’s assertion in Chapter Dolorem et quae. Exercitationem non aut. Eveniet dolor non. Incidu
The role of revolutionary leadership…is to consider seriously, even as they act, the reasons for any attitude of mistrust on the part of the people, and to seek out true avenues of communion with them, ways of helping the people to help themselves critically perceive the reality which oppresses them.
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Before delving into the methods revolutionaries can use to change society, Freire lays out the characteristics of a good revolutionary. One important point he makes is that revolutionary leaders must account for how oppression has shaped people’s perceptions of the world and of others. Oppressed people may not trust a revolutionary leader at first, and a good leader will work with the people to find out why and to help them understand oppression. When this happens, leaders can sometimes fall back on oppressive tactics to gain support (like manipulation or coercion)—but Freire argues that liberation achieved through these methods will Dolorem et quae. Exercitationem no
...Organization requires authority, so it cannot be authoritarian; it requires freedom, so it cannot be licentious. Organization is, rather, a highly educational process in which leaders and people together experience true authority and freedom, which they then seek to establish in society by transforming the society which mediates them.
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In his section on organization, a method of “dialogical” action that revolutionaries can use, Freire says that it naturally proceeds from two other methods: cooperation and unity. When people begin to come together and see their struggles as similar, radical leaders can begin to bring them into a formal group that can fight for liberation as a common goal. It’s significant that Freire talks about organization in educational terms: he often uses similar vocabulary for education and revolution, and he believes that educators and revolutionaries have similar roles in fighting for freedom with the oppressed. Within a formal group, oppressed Dolorem et quae. Exercitationem non aut. Eveniet dolor non. Incidunt dolores sunt. A
