Corporate social responsibility: Reflections under the aegis of paulo freire's thought

Abstract

The aim of this essay is to discuss the dominant approach to corporate social responsibility under the aegis of Paulo Freire's thought, guided by substantive rationality. First, we carry out some observations on rationality that guide human action. Then, we present some brief considerations about corporate social responsibility (CSR) establishing a dialogue between the dominant conception and the Freirean's perspective, indicating that if the CSR is taken in the view of competitive advantage, it reveals itself as an assistentialist strategy that may lead to the immobilization of the human being, from the perspective of Paulo Freire. He believes that to go beyond CSR as a strategy of capital, the subjects must act as co-authors and co-responsible for any actions concerning their lives. Therefore, there can be no dichotomy, where some people are 'subjects' of socially responsible action, while others are 'objects' of this action. That means, the RSC, under the aegis of Freire's thought, begins when a person stops looking to others as an abstract category and see her/him as a person; when a person stops doing merciful gestures and adopt a concrete and historic action, where there's not an 'object' of an action but 'subjects' acting to transform reality.