The conscientization of domitila: A case study in the political psychology of liberation

Abstract

Liberation from conditions of oppression in a Third World dominated by powerful police, military, and business organizations can hardly be envisaged as the result of isolated individual actions. Yet, even collective action by the oppressed must begin by raising individual consciousness of the structural conditions which determine the oppression of classes, ethnic groups, and marginalized sectors to which the individual belongs. The very concept of "development" implies a structural transformation of society which will eliminate oppression thereby permitting greater social justice as well as the meeting of material needs of a society's population. Galtung and colleagues go so far as to define the concept of development in terms of ethnic-cultural diversity, socio-economic growth, equality, and social justice, all of which are viewed as necessary conditions for the realization of an even more basic value, personal growth [1]. Personal growth, a concept which Galtung et al. do not attempt to define, we believe overlaps considerably with the concept of humanization as defined by Paulo Freire. Freire considers humanization to be man's vocation, for to consider dehumanization as man's vocation would be meaningless.