Dehumanization Of Oppression

In the first chapter of the Pedagogy of the Oppressed, Freire provides reasoning to argue that the end of oppression must be through the oppressed realizing their human vocation of liberation. The oppressed must realize that they are being oppressed, and that realization will result in a commitment to the transformation of the oppressive system, which will then result in action that will shift the dynamics of oppression. Freire gives an account of the different steps that must be taken by the oppressed to end oppression, and exaggerates that only the oppressed have the means of ending oppression. To Freire, oppression is dehumanization, the distortion of the human vocation; and the struggle of the oppressors gaining humanization is only meaningful

Freire’s first premises set up the foundation that the human vocation is humanization, to liberate themselves and their oppressors; which is negated by dehumanization, the distortion of the human vocation through injustice and oppression. After establishing this, he stresses that breaking free from oppression must be through the oppressed perceiving the true reality of oppression “not as a closed world from which there is no exit, but as a limiting situation which they can transform” (Freire 31) and committing to the said transformation, and finally, action in depth that will result in the shifting dynamics from oppression to permanent liberation by means of the pedagogy of the oppressed. After discussing the aforementioned argument, I will present the strongest objection to the logical implication: that oppressors cannot lead the force in a meaningful manner although the oppressed and the oppressor are equal in their path to

This purpose can be proven true by its negation of dehumanization, or the distortion of the human vocation. The inevitable results of injustice and oppression are the yearning for liberation from the oppressed, which serves as proof of the true vocation of humanization. Although oppressors hold the oppressive structure steady, the oppressed must lead the act of liberation. The oppressor cannot simply help the situation by giving bits of capital to the oppressed; in fact, the aid within the realm of oppression is referred to as false generosity, which perpetuates injustice and will only result in a continuation of the causality of the oppressive force. This is like enabling toxic behavior, which makes the enabler feel like they are helping the person with toxic habits, when in reality they are doing more harm than good. In this case, the enabling of injustice for one’s own sake ends up helping the oppressor both by creating a feeling of generosity, and by keeping the oppressive structure steady. True generosity can only be enacted by the oppressed by fighting to destroy the actual causes of injustice and overturning structural oppression. Freire adamantly instils that only the oppressed have the means to overcome oppression in a way that can allow for humanization to be established. However, this may be a difficult feat, as the oppressed have to overcome the duality that’s been