A product of the volatile power shifts of the 1960s, Paolo Freire's Pedagogy of the Oppressed reflects a revolutionary idealism which appears throughout the world at this time. He draws specifically upon figureheads of social reform such as Karl Marx, Karl Jaspers, and Álvaro Vieira Pinto. While Freire expresses his own opinions about how society should respond to the abuse of power and the oppression of the powerless, he does rely heavily upon established patterns of thought, specifically the dialectical model.
Freire's eccentricity shines through his theories of reform. He is fundamentally an idealist, desiring to see the goodness and cooperation of humanity suppress more base instincts of manipulation and violence. Avoiding the most idealistic stance of the modern hippy, Freire calls for a more structured means of reforming society -- through education. He views the school and the university as the battle ground upon which the conflicts for power are first being settled, one which has historically viewed both student and educator as a tool to serve the advancement of those already in power. In simple terms, Freire calls for education reform as the vehicle by which society at large will come into a balance of power and justice in which the individual possesses a voice, regardless of social standing.
As Freire develops his ideas, he appeals to authority figures while simultaneously preferring his own re-conceptualization of traditional concepts. For example, he borrows Pinto's idea of realized collective conscience and turns it into an argument for speaking truth. Through the vocalization of the individual Freire sees the hope of collective transformation. Along the way, he coins several terms for the accomplishment of cooperation and empowerment, based, again, largely in the effective application of education.
