I would later test these principles by applying what I had learned in work with other politically powerless populations: including prison inmates, people dealing with addictions and hospitalized elderly dementia patients.
I now am working with higher functioning clients in private practice. Empowerment is still the name of the game.
Introduction
The previous essay, "Power Matters-Domination," began by describing Riane Eisler's conception of two radically different ways of seeing and using power. And two different principles of social organization.
In the dominator model, which is based on social ranking, "either you're the boss or I am." This is the "power-over-others" model. And usually, one is either a winner and or a loser. In this system, it's understandable that there is plenty of powerlessness to spread around; it's baked into the cake.
But there are two avenues through which we can feel more powerful.
On the first road I only need expand by conquering territory, nations, women, men.
There is also a complementary strategy to gain power: allowing myself to be swallowed up by something larger and mightier. A person relinquishes responsibility and places themselves into the hands of a "higher power." Although actually choosing to be overpowered, we gain a sense of strength and at times even ferocity, when tor the moment, we bask in aura of our formidable fearless leader.
The essence of the domination system (also known as "authoritarianism") is controlling others, motivated by a fear that if we don't control others, they will control us.
Arguing that partnership is a viable and realistic alternative to domination, Eisler has drawn on reinterpreted archeological evidence to argue that, until very recently in history a partnership mode of relating to other beings and the world has been the focal point of human life.
Today, a growing number of people are coming to realize that the dominator model itself is a dead end. That our foolish obsession with the conquest of nature is creating a profoundly endangered planet. And that the penultimate achievement of the dominator way - the possibility of nuclear war - is literally a dead end.... for everyone and everything.
Thus, a "paradigm of partnership" is emerging - in which men, women, and nature are linked rather than ranked. It can be called the "power-with-others" or "mutual-power" model.
Partnership is motivated not by fear but by a desire, whether consciously articulated or not, to realize the possibilities inherent in ourselves and others.
It is the polar opposite of one person dominating another, a model which has existed as a subterranean paradigm for Millenia.
Eisler's describes a massive change in world culture that took place some five thousand years ago - leading to what Philip Slater has called, "the mega-culture of authoritarianism." Slater concurs with Eisler that authoritarianism began to appear as a dominant social form in many parts of the world 5 or 6,000 years ago - in the Far East, North Africa, India, and the Middle East - and has continued to be the prevailing mega-culture ever since, spreading to Europe, Africa, Meso-America and most of Asia.
"We begin to find kings, social classes, slaves, standing armies, weaponry, torture, and human sacrifice. Gods are put over goddesses, wives begin to pay deference to husbands and sons to their fathers. Authoritarianism may in fact be defined as a highly centralized social organization developed in order to exercise coercive control over unwilling participants in the community."
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