We live in an era of extreme connectivity and constant technological advancements, but at the same time, we face an insidious phenomenon that undermines the foundations of our humanity: dehumanization.
It is a much more subtle and omnipresent process, one that permeates our social interactions, our institutional structures, and our perception of others. Ignoring it is tantamount to allowing society to erode its own fundamental values.
Dehumanization is not an accident of history; it is a recurring social and psychological mechanism.
From a sociological perspective, this phenomenon can be understood as the construction of "the other" as an inferior being, deprived of representation and dignity.
Philosophically, it poses the negation of the Kantian principle: to treat people as ends in themselves, recognizing their inherent dignity, and not as mere instruments to achieve other purposes.
In practical terms, it manifests in political discourses that reduce certain groups to "threats," in work cultures where the individual becomes a "replaceable cog," and even in digital environments where interaction facilitates the "anonymity of contempt."
The gravity of dehumanization lies in its capacity to normalize indifference. When the other is constructed as "less," the moral threshold shifts, and acts that were previously unthinkable are perceived as inevitable. This logic is behind labor precarity, systematic exploitation, structural discrimination. Dehumanization, then, is not only an ethical problem, but also a political and economic problem, since it perpetuates inequalities and consolidates systems of power that depend on skewing the humanity of the other.
However, it is not unchangeable.
Educational spaces play a significant role, not as a simple transmission of information, but as a cultivation of the capacity for criticism, reflection, and compassion.
Likewise, public policies should be oriented towards the protection of human dignity, ensuring that individuals are not treated as "mere numbers" or "instruments of power".
At its root, it is the manifestation of a collective fear: fear of the other, fear of difference, fear of recognizing that we share "vulnerability and mortality." Fighting against it means confronting that fear, dismantling the logic of superiority, and restoring the humanity that is taken from us when we stop seeing the other as a worthy equal.
Ultimately, our ability to resist dehumanization defines not only the quality of our coexistence, but the very essence of what we are as a society.
If we aspire to a civilization that not only survives, but thrives in justice and empathy, we must turn the humanization of the other into a daily act, an unwavering principle that guides our politics, our culture, and our relationships.
Dehumanization is silent, but its effects are devastating; recognizing and combating it is a social imperative that admits no delay.
