Addition to Chapter 50

(Added October 30, 2024)

My Dream: Instead of Fighting Symptoms Separately, Activists Address the Root Disease Together

There is sexism in every unhealthy culture, and countless feminist movements have worked throughout history to fight sexism, and yet not a single feminist movement has ever ended sexism in their unhealthy culture.

The rich exploit the workers in every unhealthy culture, and countless labor activists have worked to stop exploitation of workers, and yet not a single labor movement has successfully ended the exploitation of workers in their society.

Some feminist groups have improved the treatment of women, just like some labor movements have improved wages or working conditions, at least somewhat. But no group in history has ever fully ended sexism or oppression of workers in their unhealthy culture.

The same is true for almost any cause:

• Child sexual abuse: Countless people have worked to end child abuse, and no social movement has ever ended child sexual abuse in their unhealthy culture.

• No environmental movement has ever completely ended pollution or environmental destruction within their culture.

• No anti-poverty movement has ever ended poverty in their society.

• No nature connection movement has ever helped everyone in their society live in deep connection with the Earth.

• No peace activists have ever made authorities permanently stop pushing for wars that serve the rich, or caused politicians to stop spreading lies and hate in support of war.

• No anti-racism activists have ever fully ended racism in their unhealthy culture.

Activists may occasionally see some positive changes after years or decades of effort, but what would it take to have big, enduring victories and deep cultural change? The racism, sexism, disconnection from nature, widespread child abuse, environmental destruction, wars that serve the rich, and many other troubles are not actually different problems. They are merely symptoms of the same root cultural disease, where a few people rule over everybody else.

This makes it clear why so many social movements have only seen minor changes, at best, in their unhealthy culture throughout history. As every doctor knows, treating a symptom will never actually lead to deep healing because the underlying disease persists.

As long as activists treat racism, greed, child abuse, and political corruption as different problems, and allow rulers to persist, all these big troubles will tragically persist too and meaningful, enduring change will be elusive.

My dream is for feminists to join forces with people fighting racism, and for them to work with environmentalists, labor activists, and others. What if all these different activists didn’t just fight separately against the symptoms, but addressed the root cultural disease together and created a healthy culture where everybody stands for a culture of mutual respect, and nobody rules over anybody else?

This book offers case studies on how to do this. Chapters 31 and 40 explored how the Haudenosaunee and Zapatistas created a healthy culture with leaders who responded to the will of the people. Chapter 40 reviewed how the Zapatistas redistributed rich peoples’ excess wealth at the beginning of their revolution, ensuring rich people did not undermine their culture from within. Chapter 40 also showed how the Zapatistas didn’t try to take control of the government and impose their laws on all of Mexico. Instead, they created their own laws so they could live in a good way, and protected themselves when authorities tried to retake control. Many chapters have explored other key patterns, including how to take the Earth’s needs into account as a normal way of life, or have economies that reward sharing rather than hoarding.

Deep cultural change is possible, but it will never come as long as activists treat discrimination, greed, poverty, environmental destruction, political corruption, disconnection from nature, and child abuse as separate problems. I encourage activists to join forces and address the root cultural disease together, creating cultures where everybody stands for a culture of mutual respect, and nobody rules over anybody else.