A critical awareness of the exclusion and vulnerability of marginalized groups is central to the German discourse on empowerment. For the first time, the authors include the debate on exclusion and otherness in this discourse, allowing those affected by discrimination, poverty, and exclusion—whose voices are neither heard nor hold political significance in society—to speak for themselves. The authors advocate for an ethics of liberation as a response to oppression and exclusion. To facilitate this, it is important to relate both globalization processes and the historical, cultural, and social living conditions of marginalized groups to the theory and practice of empowerment. They highlight the ideology of the autonomous subject and the disregard for real experiences of suffering.