Política, pedagogia, propaganda : una altra mirada a la desafecció política de la ciutadania

Abstract

Departing from the assertion of the Catalan politician Rafel Campalans «politics means pedagogy», the article shows how in general professional politicians misuse the word pedagogy, often equating it to mere propaganda. At a later point it is argued that the political disenchantment of citizens is not only a subjective feeling, but is rather also due to more structural reasons: the power and the role of the economy and the impact of the information and communication technologies, beginning with the mass media. To illustrate what pedagogy could teach politics, he analyses the theoretical and practical contributions of two great 20th Century pedagogues: Paulo Freire and Lorenzo Milani. Regarding Freire, he emphasises that the point of departure for any political or educational intervention must be the understanding of other peoples reality. And he highlights Milanis capacity for indignation and for transforming this indignation into political and educational action.