Tuesday, 18 February 2020, 9:25 amOpinion: Dr Nayvin Gordon

Class domination has not alwaysexisted in human society, but once established, socialhierarchy has deeply penetrated and permeated culture tocreate both implicit and explicit biases for social status,for hierarchy. Returning to an egalitarian society requiresboth systemic-institutional change and change in ourconscious and unconscious minds.

As long as classsociety has existed, it has been a social dominancehierarchy. Hierarchy is a social construct, used to justifydomination and exploitation. Myths have always been used tojustify the rule of the few over the many. Kings and Lordsmaintained that God gave them the authority to rule overpeasants. Slave-owners declared that non Christians could beenslaved. Today capitalists say that they are smarter andworked harder and thus have the right to privately ownproduction and pay workers wages. They made themselvesrulers, and then they sought to divide those whom theyruled.

The brutal economic system of slavery inAmerica required social control to prevent the unity ofblack and white labor. The slave-owners created the lies andlaws of racism. Frederick Douglas, the famous abolitionist,wrote: The hostility between the Whites and the Blacks ofthe South is easily explained. It has its root and sap inthe relation of slavery, and was incited on both sides bythe cunning of the slave masters. Those masters securedtheir ascendancy over both the poor White and the Blacks byputting enmity between them. They divided both to conquereach. The demonizing myths of racism created aculture of race hierarchy in the general population. Whenindustrial capitalism began to expand it used the racistideology to divide black and white to exploit and profitfrom the wage worker.

Today we live in a capitalisteconomy where the 1% owns controlling interest incorporations, industry, finance and land, while the 99% areexploited. A few thousand years of social hierarchy hascreated a cultural environment where it is largely acceptedas natural. It is in the air, consciously andunconsciously embedded in our culture. We generally acceptthe oppressive system of social dominance. Children as youngas six are implicitly (unconsciously) awareof status.

Social status is widely acceptedimplicitly even among those whohold egalitarian world views. Studies have shownthat status is more important thanmoney.

Significantly, social status isstrongly linked to fear in our brains emotional center.The 1% use their power to deflect and divide the 99% bypromoting stereotypes and mass propaganda to dehumanizecertain groups which impact the limbic system, theprimitive brain, with the powerful emotions of fear andhate When status is threatened the emotion offear is generated leading to hatred and violence.History reveals that when the 99% begin to organize forprogressive social change that could create more socialequality, the ruling class feels threatened.Confrontation is inevitablesince it is invariablyinitiated by the forces of reaction whosee their power threatened. A famous economist oncewrote: the most violent, mean and malignant passionsof the human breast, the Furiesof private interest.

The top down dominance ofcorporate capitalism continue to divide and subdivide the99% into those who are considered worthy and those who areless worthy --race, nation, religion, sex, immigrant, tribeand more, ad infinitum. The power systems of dominancehierarchy are built into the major institutions andorganizations of society- corporations, the state, thepolice and the military for example. It is not a few badapples, but the rotten barrel of the barrelmakers .

There are those who maintain that itis in human nature to dominate and exploitthey sayit has always been so. Nothing could be further fromthe truth. Anthropologists have repeatedlydemonstrated that humans have lived for thousands of yearsin egalitarian societies. In fact many have practicedreverse hierarchythose who sought to dominate asdespots were punished,banished or killed.

Social hierarchy is acreated oppressive social construct as isracism. It can be abolished. Socialdominance hierarchy and the fear of losing status are notinevitable. We have the potential to unite the worlds 99%and create a society of equals. It is crucial that thoseseeking to transform the political and economic systemacknowledge not only must they build a movement foreconomic, social and political equality but also struggle toovercome their own implicit hierarchical biases. If not,social hierarchy will be carried into the futurewhere leaders will become rulers whoundermine and corrupt the egalitarian world view. Historyhas clearly shown that only eternal vigilance of the rankand file mobilized against social hierarchy has thepotential to win and maintain the solidarity of anegalitarian society. We must change ourselveswhile also seeking to changesociety.

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