Paulo Freire (1921 – 1997)
Brazilian educator and theorist of critical pedagogy.
"Authentic thinking, thinking that is concerned about reality, does not take place in ivory tower isolation, but only in communication. If it is true that thought has meaning only when generated by action upon the world, the subordination of students to teachers becomes impossible."
"Leaders who do not act dialogically, but insist on imposing their decisions, do not organize the people--they manipulate them. They do not liberate, nor are they liberated: they oppress."
"A real humanist can be identified more by his trust in the people, which engages him in their struggle."
"Dialogue cannot exist, however, in the absence of a profound love for the world and its people."
"It is essential for the oppressed to realize that when they accept the struggle for humanization they also accept, from that moment, their total responsibility for the struggle."
"The task of revolutionary leaders is to pose as problems not only this myth, but all the other myths used by the oppressor elites to oppress."
"Only in the encounter of the people with the revolutionary leaders--in their communion, in their praxis--can this theory be built."
"The behavior and reactions of the oppressed, which lead the oppressor to practice cultural invasion, should evoke from the revolutionary a different theory of action. What distinguishes revolutionary leaders from the dominant elite is not only their objectives, but their procedures."
"The oppressed want at any cost to resemble the oppressors."
"Discovering himself to be an oppressor may cause considerable anguish, but it does not necessarily lead to solidarity with the oppressed."
"Finally, cultural revolution develops the practice of permanent dialogue between leaders and people and consolidates the participation of the people in power."
"People are fulfilled only to the extent that they create their world (which is a human world), and create it with their transforming labor. The fulfillment of humankind as human beings lies, then, in the fulfillment of the world. If for a person to be in the world of work is to be totally dependent, insecure, and permanently threatened--if their work does not belong to them--the person cannot be fulfilled. Work that is not free ceases to be a fulfilling pursuit and becomes an effective means of dehumanization."