Parables as subversive speech

Herzog would have it that Jesus, somewhat like Paolo Freire, means to liberate colonial peasant subjects from the dominant imperial views of their identity, by teaching them from within the culture of their everyday lives. Thus Herzog reads parables of Jesus as realistic life situations in Galilee. It's a powerful idea, and and interesting read, but it's questionable that Herzog makes his case in a generalizable way. On first read must of seems a stretch.