La transformación social en la esfera del principio crítico-constructivo desde el pensamiento de Enrique Dussel.

Abstract

Social transformation within the framework of the critical-constructive principle, as developed in the thought of Enrique Dussel, explores how this philosopher’s approach proposes a liberating praxis to confront structures of domination and oppression in Latin America. In his philosophy, ethics and politics are intertwined to challenge these structures from the standpoint of otherness. Dussel’s analytical method, in contrast to Hegelian dialectics, begins with the excluded Other as an epistemic and political subject, listening to their voice in order to decolonize both thought and action. Moreover, Dussel’s liberating praxis is divided into two moments: negative praxis, which unmasks and rejects oppressive structures, and positive praxis, which constructs new social relations grounded in justice and dialogue. This dynamic is exemplified in movements such as Zapatismo, which combines resistance to neoliberalism with the creation of autonomous communities. Political principles such as the material (human life), the formal-democratic (participation), and the feasibility (viability) guide this transformation, avoiding both empty reformism and sterile radicalism. Accordingly, the coloniality of power—analyzed in dialogue with Aníbal Quijano—reveals how racial and economic hierarchies persist within modernity, thereby naturalizing exclusion. In response, Dussel proposes the concept of obediential power, in which rulers serve the community, thus avoiding the fetishization of power that distorts social and economic relations.