Espousing hope or entrenching gloom? A critical discourse analysis of Oxfam’s global inequality reports through the lens of Freire’s pedagogy of hope

As inequality, climate crisis, and threats to democracy grow, debates on poverty and justice have become urgent.  This article applies critical discourse analysis (CDA) and Paulo Freire’s ‘pedagogy of hope’ to examine how Oxfam’s global inequality reports (2016–2025) have evolved.  It asks whether these reports only dramatise crisis or also foster hope and action.  A comparison of ten reports shows a shift: earlier texts stressed crisis and elite blame, while later ones highlight collective action and alternatives.  Using CDA’s three levels, text, discourse, and social practice, the study finds Oxfam increasingly challenges the view that neoliberalism is inevitable.  Later reports emphasise feminist economics, grassroots organising, and fairer wealth distribution as real solutions.  Guided by Freire’s idea that hope arises through struggle, the study shows that while early reports risked hopelessness, later ones invite readers to see themselves as agents of change.  The article argues that advocacy texts can be pedagogical tools, naming injustice while building the emotional and political conditions for democratic renewal and resistance.