Of power and oppression

Varied inequalities plague our world and enable the lingering marginalisation of large segments of the global populace. This perturbing situation should make us want to question the structures of dominance which sustain socio-economic differences amongst people. How power is manifested, and how it is exercised to create a glaring gap between the haves and have-nots are interlinked questions, which must be grappled with by any genuine effort to make the world a more equitable place.

A seminal thinker who has provided insightful ideas to understand how power is used to oppress others is Paulo Freire. Freire was a Brazilian philosopher and activist who died in the late 1990s, but whose work has inspired generations of thinkers interested in bringing about progressive change.

Freire aptly descried society as a fluid and constantly changing system wherein power is either intentionally, or unintentionally, used to oppress people. This oppression takes place to facilitate accumulation of wealth and affluence by those occupying the top and higher intermediary tiers of varied hierarchical structures. Freire’s ideas concerning use of power to oppress others can be used to understand the differences between richer and poorer countries, between the elites and the neglected, or between corporate executives and large shareholders on the one hand, and increasingly exploited low-tiered labourers on the other.

Freire also pointed out how oppressors have no desire to change the prevailing status quo in ways which would undermine their positions of privilege. Efforts made to manage and coopt social change are therefore limited in scope, and they may take the form of tokenistic provision of aid or loans to poorer countries, philanthropic endeavours by the ultra-rich, or corporate responsibility schemes which do not disturb the bottom line of making more profit.

In instances where demands for change threaten the privileged, soft or hard power is readily deployed to resist or coopt demands of meaningful change. Consider, for instance, recurrent attempts by authoritarian governments at the behest of multinational interests to curb labour movements demanding decent work conditions and better compensation under the garb of creating business-friendly environments. Or else, the leaders of labour movements are directly pressured or enticed to water down their demands by the managers of big businesses.

Conversely, Freire noted how the oppressed are often so caught up in their daily grind to make ends meet that they lack the motivation to unite. Moreover, he argued that the oppressed can also find it hard to understand the ever-evolving structures of oppression used by those in power to resist change. Freire thus advocated for the need to help the oppressed develop their critical consciousness and to then harness this newfound awareness to undertake liberating action.

However, Freire did not have much faith in mainstream education being able to make people recognise or challenge the systems of oppression which surround them. Instead, he thought that most forms of mainstream education indoctrinate students into accepting and serving systems of exploitation.

Unfortunately, Freire’s lack of faith in the power of mainstream education that most people receive is not unfounded. The educational curricula used by primary and secondary schools in most countries, even those less overtly intolerant or ultranationalist, aims to further patriotism and respect for the status quo, while imparting basic literacy skills. Most tertiary education institutions are focused on training technocrats and other professionals who can further the economic interests of varied hegemonic groups, help run the state’s machinery, or serve the military-industrial complex.

Despite allowing some tokenistic freedom of expression and critical thinking, higher academic institutions are not interested in turning their students into active agents of socio-economic disruptions who can alter the underlying causes of inequalities. Take a closer look at the academic ethos at any prominent university in Pakistan, or overseas, and Freier’s assertions will prove hard to refute.