pedagogy of the oppressed

dehumanization, which marks not only those whose humanity has been stolen, but also (though in a different way) those who have stolen it, is a distortion of the vocation of becoming more fully human. dehumaniztion is not a given destiny but the result of an unjust order that engenders violence in the oppressors, which in turn dehumanizes the oppressed.

because it is a distortion of being more fully human, sooner or later being less human leads the oppressed to struggle against those who made them so. in order for this struggle to have meaning, the oppressed must not, in seeking to regain their humanity, become in turn oprressors of the oppressors, but rather restorers of the humanity of both.

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. only power that springs from the weakness of the oppressed will be sufficiently strong to free both.

paulo freire