The oppression of human beings by other human beings has many different faces. It can take the form of political oppression, economic exploitation, social exclusion, cultural estrangement and sexist humiliation. It takes other forms too. But it is always a crime against life. . . .
Oppression always has two sides. On the one side stands the master, on the other side lies the slave. On the one side is the arrogant self-elevation of the exploiter, on the other the suffering of his victim. Oppression destroys humanity on both sides. The oppressor acts inhumanely, the victim is dehumanized. The evil the perpetrator commits robs him of his humanity, the suffering he inflicts dehumanizes the victim. Where suffering is experienced in the pain of humiliation on the one hand, evil spreads on the other. This polarization of society is conspicuous in many areas of the world. On one side of the street, behind barbed wire, are the golf courses and gated communities of the rich, guarded by the police; on the other side are the stinking slums of the poor and unemployed, with their rising crime rate. We see it in Rio de Janeiro, in Johannesburg, in Los Angeles and in Seoul. The children of the rich keep to themselves in private schools with highly paid teachers, the children of the poor go to run-down state schools, if they go to school at all. The protected life in the gated communities is pleasant, but inhuman. These are gilded prisons where fear stalks. The unprotected life of the slums is unpleasant, but for all its inhumanity, it has more potential for human closeness and community. The surrender of the privileges of the rich is not too high a price to pay for a humane society, with dignity and justice on both sides.
— Jurgen Moltmann, Experiences in Theology