Ending the legacy of divide and rule Divide and rule has been used to control populations for tho... more Ending the legacy of divide and rule Divide and rule has been used to control populations for thousands of years. It has divided our societies at every level and locked in place a very dangerous economic, social and political system that now threatens the ecological basis of human civilisation. This division is not natural or inevitable – we can understand it and undo it; we can build a society organised for the benefit of all people and all life.
There is accumulating evidence that humans are intelligent, cooperative and caring in our basic nature, and that in our early, small-scale societies, people lived and worked together as equals. However, almost all of our later, larger-scale societies have been characterised by narrow self-interest, competition, exploitation and conflict. (Actually, all human societies contain huge amounts of cooperation – they could not possibly work without it – but almost all of this cooperation is currently in the service of exploitation.)
It will be very interesting to think about how exploitative societies first arose, but it is much more important now for us to understand what holds the current exploitative structures in place so we can begin to dismantle them. Almost everyone understands 'divide and rule', and that it has been used to facilitate domination and exploitation in certain situations. But few seem to have understood that it has been much more widely and deeply destructive. Division has been built in to our societies and cultures. It has become embedded in our minds and our identities. In fact, our identities – who we feel we are deep down – are essentially divisions. It will take some effort to dig this out!
This article will show that endemic division – the legacy of divide and rule – is implicated in almost all of the big problems currently facing humanity. It will show that it is not possible to solve any of these problems in isolation because they have become thoroughly entangled. It is only through understanding how the overall system works that real solutions will become possible.
Human beings are capable of high levels of cooperation, love and caring. However, for thousands ... more Human beings are capable of high levels of cooperation, love and caring. However, for thousands of years most of us have been living in societies that systematically suppress these human qualities. These inhuman social systems now function to sustain themselves, the systems, not the people within them.
Our societies are organised so that almost everyone derives some material benefit or sense of security from the exploitation or subordination of others. It is a network of inhuman relationships that has persisted and reproduced itself but which serves no human purpose. As human beings, even 'the elites' are victims of these inhuman social systems.
In this series of articles I look at exploitative societies, how they arose and what now holds them in place, to assist in the development of effective policies and programs for transforming them into fully human-centred societies.
I look at the role of mistreatment and oppression, and how, by dividing us, they derail attempts to change the inhuman structures. I also look at how oppressions – such as racism, sexism, classism, anti-Semitism, and so on – arose, and how they became part of our cultures, our societies and our unconscious minds.
Oppressive attitudes and behaviours aren’t individual ‘character defects’, but are part of a wider and more fundamental problem in our societies. Oppression and mistreatment operate in individuals mostly at an unconscious and emotional level but, because they are often unconscious, we have also unwittingly built them into our cultures, institutions and social structures. Transforming our societies will require understanding how mistreatment and oppression work, both at the emotional level and at the structural level.
Blame and punishment tend to perpetuate the root causes of mistreatment and oppression, both at the emotional level and at the structural level, and so are entirely counter-productive.
This article looks at the future of work -- the relationships between work, technology, exploitat... more This article looks at the future of work -- the relationships between work, technology, exploitation and living meaningful lives.
This article is based on some talks I gave in 2014 to mixed groups of women and men, mostly with ... more This article is based on some talks I gave in 2014 to mixed groups of women and men, mostly with identities other than white English. The title of my talk is Sexism: How men can be allies to women, but this is also about human relationships in general, and how we can improve them. There is far more to say about these topics than I will have time to say here but I hope to give some kind of picture of what I think is possible.
Ending the legacy of divide and rule Divide and rule has been used to control populations for tho... more Ending the legacy of divide and rule Divide and rule has been used to control populations for thousands of years. It has divided our societies at every level and locked in place a very dangerous economic, social and political system that now threatens the ecological basis of human civilisation. This division is not natural or inevitable – we can understand it and undo it; we can build a society organised for the benefit of all people and all life.
There is accumulating evidence that humans are intelligent, cooperative and caring in our basic nature, and that in our early, small-scale societies, people lived and worked together as equals. However, almost all of our later, larger-scale societies have been characterised by narrow self-interest, competition, exploitation and conflict. (Actually, all human societies contain huge amounts of cooperation – they could not possibly work without it – but almost all of this cooperation is currently in the service of exploitation.)
It will be very interesting to think about how exploitative societies first arose, but it is much more important now for us to understand what holds the current exploitative structures in place so we can begin to dismantle them. Almost everyone understands 'divide and rule', and that it has been used to facilitate domination and exploitation in certain situations. But few seem to have understood that it has been much more widely and deeply destructive. Division has been built in to our societies and cultures. It has become embedded in our minds and our identities. In fact, our identities – who we feel we are deep down – are essentially divisions. It will take some effort to dig this out!
This article will show that endemic division – the legacy of divide and rule – is implicated in almost all of the big problems currently facing humanity. It will show that it is not possible to solve any of these problems in isolation because they have become thoroughly entangled. It is only through understanding how the overall system works that real solutions will become possible.
Human beings are capable of high levels of cooperation, love and caring. However, for thousands ... more Human beings are capable of high levels of cooperation, love and caring. However, for thousands of years most of us have been living in societies that systematically suppress these human qualities. These inhuman social systems now function to sustain themselves, the systems, not the people within them.
Our societies are organised so that almost everyone derives some material benefit or sense of security from the exploitation or subordination of others. It is a network of inhuman relationships that has persisted and reproduced itself but which serves no human purpose. As human beings, even 'the elites' are victims of these inhuman social systems.
In this series of articles I look at exploitative societies, how they arose and what now holds them in place, to assist in the development of effective policies and programs for transforming them into fully human-centred societies.
I look at the role of mistreatment and oppression, and how, by dividing us, they derail attempts to change the inhuman structures. I also look at how oppressions – such as racism, sexism, classism, anti-Semitism, and so on – arose, and how they became part of our cultures, our societies and our unconscious minds.
Oppressive attitudes and behaviours aren’t individual ‘character defects’, but are part of a wider and more fundamental problem in our societies. Oppression and mistreatment operate in individuals mostly at an unconscious and emotional level but, because they are often unconscious, we have also unwittingly built them into our cultures, institutions and social structures. Transforming our societies will require understanding how mistreatment and oppression work, both at the emotional level and at the structural level.
Blame and punishment tend to perpetuate the root causes of mistreatment and oppression, both at the emotional level and at the structural level, and so are entirely counter-productive.
This article looks at the future of work -- the relationships between work, technology, exploitat... more This article looks at the future of work -- the relationships between work, technology, exploitation and living meaningful lives.
This article is based on some talks I gave in 2014 to mixed groups of women and men, mostly with ... more This article is based on some talks I gave in 2014 to mixed groups of women and men, mostly with identities other than white English. The title of my talk is Sexism: How men can be allies to women, but this is also about human relationships in general, and how we can improve them. There is far more to say about these topics than I will have time to say here but I hope to give some kind of picture of what I think is possible.
Uploads
Papers by Karl Lam
There is accumulating evidence that humans are intelligent, cooperative and caring in our basic nature, and that in our early, small-scale societies, people lived and worked together as equals. However, almost all of our later, larger-scale societies have been characterised by narrow self-interest, competition, exploitation and conflict. (Actually, all human societies contain huge amounts of cooperation – they could not possibly work without it – but almost all of this cooperation is currently in the service of exploitation.)
It will be very interesting to think about how exploitative societies first arose, but it is much more important now for us to understand what holds the current exploitative structures in place so we can begin to dismantle them.
Almost everyone understands 'divide and rule', and that it has been used to facilitate domination and exploitation in certain situations. But few seem to have understood that it has been much more widely and deeply destructive. Division has been built in to our societies and cultures. It has become embedded in our minds and our identities. In fact, our identities – who we feel we are deep down – are essentially divisions. It will take some effort to dig this out!
This article will show that endemic division – the legacy of divide and rule – is implicated in almost all of the big problems currently facing humanity. It will show that it is not possible to solve any of these problems in isolation because they have become thoroughly entangled. It is only through understanding how the overall system works that real solutions will become possible.
Our societies are organised so that almost everyone derives some material benefit or sense of security from the exploitation or subordination of others. It is a network of inhuman relationships that has persisted and reproduced itself but which serves no human purpose. As human beings, even 'the elites' are victims of these inhuman social systems.
In this series of articles I look at exploitative societies, how they arose and what now holds them in place, to assist in the development of effective policies and programs for transforming them into fully human-centred societies.
I look at the role of mistreatment and oppression, and how, by dividing us, they derail attempts to change the inhuman structures. I also look at how oppressions – such as racism, sexism, classism, anti-Semitism, and so on – arose, and how they became part of our cultures, our societies and our unconscious minds.
Oppressive attitudes and behaviours aren’t individual ‘character defects’, but are part of a wider and more fundamental problem in our societies. Oppression and mistreatment operate in individuals mostly at an unconscious and emotional level but, because they are often unconscious, we have also unwittingly built them into our cultures, institutions and social structures. Transforming our societies will require understanding how mistreatment and oppression work, both at the emotional level and at the structural level.
Blame and punishment tend to perpetuate the root causes of mistreatment and oppression, both at the emotional level and at the structural level, and so are entirely counter-productive.
Talks by Karl Lam
There is accumulating evidence that humans are intelligent, cooperative and caring in our basic nature, and that in our early, small-scale societies, people lived and worked together as equals. However, almost all of our later, larger-scale societies have been characterised by narrow self-interest, competition, exploitation and conflict. (Actually, all human societies contain huge amounts of cooperation – they could not possibly work without it – but almost all of this cooperation is currently in the service of exploitation.)
It will be very interesting to think about how exploitative societies first arose, but it is much more important now for us to understand what holds the current exploitative structures in place so we can begin to dismantle them.
Almost everyone understands 'divide and rule', and that it has been used to facilitate domination and exploitation in certain situations. But few seem to have understood that it has been much more widely and deeply destructive. Division has been built in to our societies and cultures. It has become embedded in our minds and our identities. In fact, our identities – who we feel we are deep down – are essentially divisions. It will take some effort to dig this out!
This article will show that endemic division – the legacy of divide and rule – is implicated in almost all of the big problems currently facing humanity. It will show that it is not possible to solve any of these problems in isolation because they have become thoroughly entangled. It is only through understanding how the overall system works that real solutions will become possible.
Our societies are organised so that almost everyone derives some material benefit or sense of security from the exploitation or subordination of others. It is a network of inhuman relationships that has persisted and reproduced itself but which serves no human purpose. As human beings, even 'the elites' are victims of these inhuman social systems.
In this series of articles I look at exploitative societies, how they arose and what now holds them in place, to assist in the development of effective policies and programs for transforming them into fully human-centred societies.
I look at the role of mistreatment and oppression, and how, by dividing us, they derail attempts to change the inhuman structures. I also look at how oppressions – such as racism, sexism, classism, anti-Semitism, and so on – arose, and how they became part of our cultures, our societies and our unconscious minds.
Oppressive attitudes and behaviours aren’t individual ‘character defects’, but are part of a wider and more fundamental problem in our societies. Oppression and mistreatment operate in individuals mostly at an unconscious and emotional level but, because they are often unconscious, we have also unwittingly built them into our cultures, institutions and social structures. Transforming our societies will require understanding how mistreatment and oppression work, both at the emotional level and at the structural level.
Blame and punishment tend to perpetuate the root causes of mistreatment and oppression, both at the emotional level and at the structural level, and so are entirely counter-productive.