The behavior of the oppressed is a prescribed behavior, following as it does the guidelines of the oppressor.
Paulo FreireRead
Just as it is important in Latin America to discuss ideas that come from North America, I think it is interesting for North Americans to discuss ideas that come from Latin America or Africa and do not insert themselves into capitalist interests.
Interpretation
What this quote means
The quote emphasizes the importance of mutual dialogue between cultures beyond capitalist motives.
Paulo Freire advocates for a reciprocal exchange of ideas between different regions, highlighting the value of perspectives from Latin America and Africa for North Americans. He encourages a discussion that transcends capitalist interests, suggesting that engagement with diverse viewpoints can lead to a richer understanding of global issues and help challenge prevailing narratives driven by capitalism.
Themes
IdeasDialogueCultureCapitalismPerspectiveEducation
In practice
Example use cases
In a public discussion about education, one might refer to this quote to highlight the need for diverse cultural perspectives.
More from Paulo Freire
All quotes →How can the oppressed, as divided, unauthentic beings, participate in developing the pedagogy of their liberation?
Paulo FreireRead
Critical and liberating dialogue, which presupposes action, must be carried on with the oppressed at whatever the stage of their struggle for liberation. The content of that dialogue can and should vary in accordance with historical conditions and the level at which the oppressed perceive reality.
Paulo FreireRead
This is the sense in which I am obliged to be a listener. To listen to the student's doubts, fears, and incompetencies that are part of the learning process. It is in listening to the student that I learn to speak with him or her.
Paulo FreireRead
This pedagogy makes oppression and its causes objects of reflection by the oppressed, and from that reflection will come their necessary engagement in the struggle for their liberation. And in the struggle this pedagogy will be made and remade
Paulo FreireRead
The oppressors do not perceive their monopoly on having more as a privilege which dehumanizes others and themselves. They cannot see that, in the egoistic pursuit of having as a possessing class, they suffocate in their own possessions and no longer are; they merely have.
Paulo FreireRead
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