Neoliberalism through the prism of the pedagogy of the oppressed

Neoliberalism is a political and economic concept which has been established in Slovenia in the last twenty years. This thesis is questioning whether neoliberalism, despite its discursive freedom, is a mechanism of oppression. It presents the main ideas on which neoliberalism is grounded and where it shows its oppressive nature. The intention of this thesis is presenting how neoliberalism is reducing sovereignty of the state, how it helps capitalistic ideas to expand into the most intimate levels of individual and his/hers social relations, and the role of media and advertising in the oppressive nature of neoliberalism. This theoretical thesis is based on the concepts of oppression by Freire and Frankl. Two authors conceptualize oppression, its mechanisms, and they give description of human behavior in oppressive inter human relations. Freire's theory also points out four main mechanisms of opression, named Antidialogical actions, which are used as the basis of questioning neoliberalism and its oppressive nature. The first antidialogical action is conquest which is exposing myths on which neoliberalism stands. The second mechanism shows its tendency in 'Divide and rule' strategy, and the third action problematizes the role of manipulation. The last antidialogical action is cultural invasion which deals with accepting and integrating invasive societal, political and economic interpretations and resulting life styles based on individualism, consumerism and materialism. The final question of the thesis is how neoliberalism oppresses us today. This diploma thesis connects oppression and neoliberalism, presents how this political and economic doctrine uses mechanisms of oppression for its implementation and uses them for prevailing against other alternative concepts of politics, economy, state and society