#inequality #education #consciousness #PauloFreire #consumerism #society
Summary:
This article seeks to articulate the concepts of inequality (Marilena Chauí)
and consciousness (Álvaro Vieira Pinto), with the concepts of class society (Karl
Marx), with the class consciousness and critical pedagogy of Paulo Freire,
applying them to the analysis of consumer society, consumerism and relationships
consumption. The objective is to demonstrate the need for a more academic study
in-depth study that develops Consumer Education methodologies in teaching
formal and non-formal, aiming at the formation of critical and emancipated subjects.
Introduction:
Need for studies on Consumer Education
Capitalist society, structured into antagonistic social classes (MARX,
1867), reproduces material and symbolic inequalities (CHAUÍ, 2000) that are
expand in the logic of consumption. In this context, consciousness (VIEIRA PINTO,
1960) – as a critical perception of reality – and class consciousness – as
recognition of the position in the mode of production – are fundamental for the
overcoming alienation. Paulo Freire (2016), in Pedagogy of the Oppressed,
demonstrates that liberating education is a path to social transformation.
Considering that there is currently no model or guidelines
for the application of Consumer Education in Formal Education and that in Education
Non-formal carried out by consumer protection agencies there is no
standardization of methods and content and it was not possible to find records of
models that highlight the mechanisms of exploitation inherent to consumerism.
In view of this, we propose a reflection on the importance of Education for
Consumption to form individuals aware of their choices and mechanisms
of exploitation inherent to the capitalist system.
Class Consciousness
Before we delve into the concept of Class Consciousness, it is necessary
understand the concepts of consciousness defined by Vieira Pinto. He
distinguishes between “notion of consciousness”, understood as the mental representation of
external reality and of oneself (self-consciousness); “naive consciousness”, which does not
perceives the objective conditioning that determines his way of thinking; and
that we will use in the rest of the article: “Critical consciousness is the representation
mental of the outside world and of oneself, accompanied by the clear perception of
objective conditions that make it have such a representation. It includes
necessarily the reference to objectivity as the origin of its way of being, the
which implies understanding that the objective world is a totality within which one
is inserted.” (VIERA PINTO – 1993 – pages 59-60)
Marilena Chauí discusses inequality as a structural element and
permanent part of society, reproduced historically in new forms. In its
works, such as Brazil: Founding Myth and Authoritarian Society, she demonstrates how
inequalities are naturalized to legitimize domination. According to Chauí, “the
Brazilian society is marked by structural inequality, which is not residual,
but constitutive. It does not result from failures or deficiencies, but is produced and
reproduced by the social, economic and political relations that organize our
collective life” (CHAUÍ, 2000, p. 45). Therefore, structural inequality is intrinsic
to capitalism and other class-based societies, sustaining privileges
for the few and exclusion for the many, with the help of speeches that present it
as inevitable.
Marx, in Capital, defines class society based on the relations of
capitalist production: “The owners of mere labor power, the owners
capital and landowners […] constitute the three great classes of
modern society based on the capitalist mode of production” (MARX, 1867).
Based on this, we can define class consciousness as the
critical understanding that individuals have of their position in this structure,
recognizing inequalities as products of the system and not as natural.
While a worker with a naive conscience blames himself for his
conditions, the class-conscious person realizes that their exploitation is
result of a systemic logic and that collective action can transform it.
Consumer Society and Consumerism
In The Consumer Society (1970), Jean Baudrillard analyzes society
contemporary as a system centered on consumption, in which objects
assume symbolic value, serving as signs of status and identity: “consumption
is today a kind of language, a communication system” (BAUDRILLARD,
1970). He criticizes the notion of consumption as a free choice, arguing that it is a
imposition of the productive system, mediated by advertising, which creates desires
artificial: “Consumer society does not sell objects, but images, dreams and
promises” (BAUDRILLARD, 1970). Baudrillard also points out the illusion of
diversity, highlighting the standardization of behaviors and dissatisfaction
perennial in an infinite cycle of consumption.
Consumerism, in turn, is approached as a social behavior of
excessive consumption, linked to Baudrillard's criticism. Zygmunt Bauman associates it
to liquid-modern societies, where “satisfaction is not in possessing, but in
to desire and not to discard” (BAUMAN, 2007, p. 12), generating a cycle of dissatisfaction
constant. Naomi Klein, in No Logo (2002), emphasizes the role of brands in
construction of identities: “corporations don’t sell products, they sell styles
of life” (KLEIN, 2002, p. 28). In short, consumerism transforms consumption into
a core value, sustained by manipulated desires and marketing, as he concludes
Bauman: “in the consumer society, no one can become a subject without
first become merchandise” (BAUMAN, 2007, p. 15).
Pedagogy of the Oppressed and Class Consciousness
Paulo Freire explains the Pedagogy of the Oppressed in a simplified way in the excerpt below
follow:
“The pedagogy of the oppressed is one that must be developed with the oppressed and not
for him, as a man or people, in the incessant struggle to recover his
humanity.” (FREIRE, Paulo. 2016, p. 47.)
In the same work Freire states that: “Consciousness is a historical-critical process
which involves not only recognizing oppression, but engaging in praxis to
overcome it.” (FREIRE, Paulo. 2016)
This idea dialogues with the Marxist notion of class consciousness, in which
workers, recognizing their exploitation, organize themselves to transform the
reality. Recent publications reinforce this connection:
“Freirean pedagogy, by problematizing power relations, provides the
bases for an education that awakens the critical consciousness of the oppressed classes,
leading them to organized political action.” (SAVIANI.2020. p. 89)
“Class consciousness, from the Freirean perspective, is not a mere
ideological discourse, but a pedagogical-political act that emerges from experiences
concrete actions of the exploited.” (NOGUEIRA. 2021. p. 112)
“Pedagogy of the Oppressed and the Marxist theory of class struggle converge in
as both understand education as an instrument of unveiling
of exploration and collective mobilization.” (OLIVEIRA. 2023. p. 56)
Therefore, we can conclude that Pedagogy of the Oppressed and awareness
of class are intrinsically linked, as both start from the critique of structures
oppressors and argue that education should be a political act of liberation.
While Freire emphasizes dialogue and the problematization of reality, tradition
Marxist theory reinforces the need for collective organization. Together, these perspectives
offer a path to social transformation through critical education.
Conclusion:
When articulating the concepts of critical consciousness (Vieira Pinto), inequality
structural (Chauí), class society (Marx), consumer society (Baudrillard,
Bauman, Klein) and liberating pedagogy (Freire), this text demonstrates that the
Consumer Education cannot be reduced to technical guidelines on
consumer rights. It must be a tool for emancipation, capable of
reveal the mechanisms of exploitation of capitalism and form critical subjects,
aware of their position in the social structure and the manipulations inherent in
consumerism.
However, there are no consolidated models or guidelines for its application in
formal or non-formal education. Existing initiatives, often fragmented,
do not sufficiently problematize consumerist alienation nor articulate the
class consciousness with everyday consumption practices. This reveals a
theoretical and methodological gap that needs to be overcome so that Education for
Consumption fulfills its transformative potential.
In view of this, we understand that it is necessary to: systematize pedagogical guidelines
for Consumer Education, integrating contributions from philosophy,
critical sociology and Freirean pedagogy; Develop educational models that
highlight the relationships between consumption, capitalist exploitation and inequality
structural, overcoming merely instrumentalizing approaches; Analyze
existing experiences in formal education and consumer protection agencies,
to identify emancipatory practices and propose critical standards; Develop
teaching methodologies that aim to raise awareness and articulate criticism of
consumerism with political organization, following the legacy of Freire and Marx.
Thus, we propose the beginning of an academic discussion so that Education
for Consumption contributes to the formation of autonomous subjects, capable of
intervene critically in reality, thus being a fundamental step in the construction
of a more just and less alienated society.
Bibliographic references:
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Paulo, v. 42, n.1, p. 245-257, Jan./Mar. 2016.VIEIRA PINTO, Álvaro. 1st theme: The concept of education. In: _.
Seven Lessons on Adult Education. São Paulo: Cortez, 19993, p. 29-40.
VIEIRA PINTO, Álvaro. National Conscience and Reality. 1960.
CHAUÍ, Marilena. Invitation to Philosophy. 2000.
MARX, Karl. Capital. 1867.
FREIRE, Paulo. Pedagogy of the Oppressed. 2016.
CHAUÍ, Marilena. Brazil: Founding Myth and Authoritarian Society. 2000.
BAUDRILLARD, Jean. The Consumer Society. 1970.
BAUMAN, Zygmunt. Life for Consumption: The Transformation of People into
merchandise. 2007.
BAUMAN, Zygmunt. The Art of Life. 2008.
KLEIN, Naomi. No Logo: The Tyranny of Brands on a Sold-Out Planet. 2002.
SAVIANI, Dermeval. Historical-Critical Pedagogy: first approaches.
2020.
NOGUEIRA, Marco Aurélio. Paulo Freire and Education as a Practice of
Freedom. 2021.
OLIVEIRA, Inês Barbosa de. Freire and Marx: Education and Consciousness
Class in the 21st Century. 2023.
MARX, Karl; ENGELS, Friedrich. The German Ideology. 2007.
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Cleber de Oliveira Silva,
He is a Pedagogy undergraduate student at FE/UNICAMP, a worker at the National Consumer Defense System and a student of Economic Sciences at Anhanguera Educacional.