Patriarchy is an Environmental Issue

WORLD

“Patriarchy” isn’t a very usual word in mainstream US American discussion. When it does turn up, it typically describes the injustices of power in between women and guys in terms of rights, possibilities and end results within our socio-economic system. Such inequities are extremely genuine, and issues like accessibility to secure abortion are critically important.

Nonetheless, Patriarchy goes much deeper than the specific struggles of our time and place. Patriarchy is not only the oppression of females as a course by men as a class– and the resulting abuse of individual women by individual guys– but also the suppression of that which is taken into consideration womanly by that which is considered manly Patriarchy is a structure of values Every little thing is gendered– top qualities, concepts, items, living things and also colors — and anything feminine is relegated to second standing. Competitors is elevated over participation; authoritarianism over agreement; muscular tissue over emotion.

So, Nature itself– since we regard it as her self– is debased.

The outcome is what we see all around us: extensive environmental devastation. Habitat is wiped out. Wildlife is in decline. Chemical and radioactive pollution breaks down planet, water and air. Leading dirt is diminished. Aquifers are overdrawn. The sea is blighted with dead zones. The environment is interfered with.

Historically, Patriarchy go back to the Agricultural Revolution in western Asia. After this pivot point, human wellness suffered, society was stratified, and the setting came under attack. Life-span was lowered, stature and stamina were reduced and unique diseases spread. Enslavement, war and personal property became institutionalised. In the landscape, forests were razed for the rake and the kiln, the ground was ripped open for mines, and rivers were strangled for watering. This isn’t to state that, previously, trees were never cut for lumber, planet never ever dug for flint and water never ever led to growings, however the influence was much less, and not just due to the fact that the human population was smaller sized. It’s because t he thoughtful worldview was fundamentally different.

Monotheism likewise arised from the Agricultural Revolution, with its really patriarchal “God”: a man without mother, wife or daughter, that did not exist on planet or in its (her) matter or creatures. With this splitting up, the planet was drained of its (her) divinity and came to be just a thing for humans to rule, rule or have “dominion” over (see the proclamatory verse in Genesis Nowadays we talk about “natural resources” and whether we wish to exploit them or preserve them, it’s the same connection of us over them (her). We no longer identify that the essence of “wild” is to be “self-willed” ( h/t Peter Michael Bauer which all life on this world has company without us; that our globe is overflowing with “all our connections” ( h/t Winona LaDuke

The “we” here is agricultural-industrial human civilization. Not all people. I’m not one of those folks that believes it’s “humanity” to be cocks. Rather, Patriarchy has made a great deal of us pricks. The cynical AF insurance claim that greed is the driving force of our species can also easily become a dodge to do better. And also, the persistence that people are preternaturally flawed appears a whole lot like “initial wrong” to me and I’ve obtained a tough “no” for that. I left the Catholic Church over that kind of bullshit.

Patriarchy drives the machinery– material, social and spiritual– that is ruining whatever. So taking down Patriarchy is necessary for the survival of our varieties and the health and wellness of the planet. Since Patriarchy holds persuade at a lot of degrees, from the macro-economic and geopolitical to the familial and the individual, we can bar versus it essentially anywhere and anytime, and any kind of cracking away we can do is meaningful.

And absolutely nothing lasts forever. In Prof. Riane Eisler’s timeless publication, “The Chalice and the Blade,” she talks about boss cultures and collaboration cultures, and just how the historical conquering of collaboration cultures by dominator cultures resulted in the state of the world we are enduring through today. Prof. Eisler likewise sees Patriarchy as a momentary phase that human beings will inevitably go beyond, which is a rejuvenating perspective. (I had the honor of talking to Prof. Eisler on my old podcast in 2020 , along with Patrick Farnsworth on his podcast Last Birthed in the Wilderness )

I do assume she’s ideal about that. Eventually, one way or another, agricultural-industrial world will not be the leading force among human beings anymore. At some time the fuel runs out, literally and metaphorically. If we can stay clear of an extinction-grade cataclysm like nuclear war (a threat that’s far also possible atm) we will eventually locate ourselves living at an easier degree of innovation in social setups that are extra cooperative than affordable. Witness exactly how people in Appalachia transformed to mutual aid in the wake of Hurricane Helene (see “After Helene” and “Calamity Empathy is Real in North Carolina” below on Substack). I believe we can meticulously and knowingly bringing our system down for a soft touchdown in an organized manner as opposed to allowing it crash. We will see!