notion : Empowerment
Empowerment
The Radical Empowerment Discourse: Originating in the 1970s, this discourse was championed by feminists, Black activists, and popular education advocates, focusing on collective liberation in self-emancipatory and explicitly political terms. It emphasized egalitarian, participatory, and local aspects. At its core, it was framed as the capacity of grassroots groups to take control of their own lives and dismantle oppressive systems, considered as necessary for social change.
The Reformist and Liberal Empowerment Discourse: Then, during the 1980s, the first elite capture of the concept occurred. “From its radical roots, we begin to see its incorporation and institutionalization within systems of state governance” (McLaughlin, 2016, p. 5). The empowerment discourse shifted toward a reformist and light-liberal framework, favoring incremental reform methods that posed no threat to existing systems. The previous focus on conscientização (Freire, 2017) embraced more therapeutic and isolated notions of individual self-awareness, with professionals and experts becoming the leading figures for change. Empowerment adopted a state-based, rather than community-based approach, leaning into hybrid governance and light self-management—particularly in community development—as an alternative to the older, top-down forms of institutionalized governance that were seen as paternalistic and outdated.
The Neoliberal Evolution of Empowerment: Finally, perhaps the most significant leap in the evolution of empowerment discourse was the full neoliberal shift from the 1990s onwards, as financial interests came to dominate the conversation. Empowerment was stripped of its political and activist meanings, reframed as the entrepreneurial capacity of individuals to navigate and succeed in market society. This shift marked its integration into global discourses of managerial and financial expertise through programs and policies led by international institutions such as the United Nations and the World Bank. Deregulation and privatization facilitated central governments’ abdication of power, responsibility, and resources to the free market.” (Volpi et al., 2024)