Gustavo Gutiérrez: Socialism

Gustavo Gutiérrez is Peruvian theologian. Explore interesting quotes on socialism.
Gustavo Gutiérrez: 64 quotes0 likes

“Contemporary man has begun to lose his naiveté as … the deep causes of the situation in which he finds himself are becoming clearer. He realizes that to attack these deep causes is the indispensable prerequisite for radical change. And so he has gradually abandoned a simple reformist attitude regarding the existing social order, for, by its very shallowness this reformism perpetuates the existing system.”

Gustavo Gutiérrez

Source: A Theology of Liberation (1971), p. 48

“By keeping historical events in their proper perspective, theology helps safeguard society and the Church from regarding as permanent what is only temporary. Critical reflection thus always plays the inverse role of an ideology which rationalizes and justifies a given social and ecclesial order.”

Gustavo Gutiérrez

Source: A Theology of Liberation (1971), p. 12

“The liberation of our continent means more than overcoming economic, social, and political dependence. It means, in a deeper sense, to see the becoming of mankind as a process of the emancipation of man in history. It is to see man in search of a qualitatively different society in which he will be free from all servitude, in which he will be the artisan of his own destiny.”

Gustavo Gutiérrez

Source: A Theology of Liberation (1971), p. 91

“The theologian … will be engaged where nations, social classes, people struggle to free themselves from domination and oppression by other nations, classes, and people.”

Gustavo Gutiérrez

Source: A Theology of Liberation (1971), p. 13

“Once causes are determined, then there is talk of "social injustice" and the privileged begin to resist.”

Gustavo Gutiérrez

Introduction: Expanding The View, p. xxiv
A Theology of Liberation - 15th Anniversary Edition

“It has become ever clearer that underdevelopment is the end result of a process. Therefore, it must be studied from a historical perspective, that is, in relationship to the development and expansion of the great capitalist countries. The underdevelopment of the poor countries, as an overall social fact, appears in its true light: as the historical by-product of the development of other countries. The dynamics of the capitalist economy lead to the establishment of a center and a periphery, simultaneously generating progress and growing wealth for the few and social imbalances, political tensions, and poverty for the many.”

Gustavo Gutiérrez

Source: A Theology of Liberation (1971), p. 54