February 16th, 2007 Posted in Psychology, Uncategorized
On critical psychology, power and marginalisation…
(Warning: Some or all of this may only make sense to me.. it will be tidied up bit by bit to make it more readable!)
Its all a mess. Lets start again.
There is “realism” – the idea that “things” are stable, that they exist outside of our discourses of them and that they can be universally judged and graded. There also exist the concepts of post-modernism and social constructionism, where each perspective or theory is given equal validity as a local, communal construction. Realist “final philosophies” are shown as the constructions that they are. Things in nature are real and independent of our thoughts of them. Things in the social world are constructed by us, but unfortunately reified – treated as if they were “real”.
There is a feeling oriented, passive, communal righteousness which proposes the final philosophy that “everyone should be nice and act fair towards each other”. Such an approach could be feminism or critical psychology, whatever. This approach wants the people that have taken the power by force to give it all away again. Why would those in power want to give it away again? It will need to be taken. However, the right to firearms and free radio and press have been taken away, in the name of keeping us safe. Firearms, radio frequencies and regulation of the press are in the hands of those in power. Protests are also illegal now, due to the Criminal Justice Bill. Even the name of that bill is in Doublespeak. If minority groups manage to take power, it will be “Animal Farm” all over again. Those in power will be replaced by a minority group, and then the displaced group or someone else will take it back ad infinitum. Some power is maintained by force. This is almost impossible to overturn, so pointless to try. Other forms of power are maintained by tacit agreement – such as “we are going to tread on you and do what we like, but we will let you enjoy material wealth if you keep quiet”. Enforced power is pretty much unassailable, so leave it. Consensual power can be removed by just deciding to remove yourself from the agreement. Vote with your feet.
A fair, post-modern society would allow everyone to live how they want to, rather than subjecting a wide range of people to one over arching ideology and political system. One size does not fit all. Quite how this utopia would be formed and maintained is a mystery.
An alternative to a power based, hierarchical government is anarchy. An example of why this cannot work with the current level of consciousness follows. A large group of final year psychology students, who have chosen to do the course and paid to be taught, do not fulfil their obligations. They rip pages out of books, borrow resources and never return them, skip lectures, avoid participating in seminars, and do as little work as possible to get through their course. In short, the whole year duck as much responsibility as possible. Without a power based structure threatening them, these psychology students would not be able to achieve a level of academic achievement required to be awarded a degree in their chosen subject. These people are the survivors, many of their peers leaving earlier in the course. They are also from relatively well to do families, from good areas and having a good level of previous education. If these people cannot accept their responsibilities, how are they going to run their lives in harmony with others without supervision? And how are the more ignorant end of society going to cope with anarchy? It seems most are happy to give up ultimate freedom in return for being able to blame others for their mistakes and apathy.
If you dont like a certain construct, institution or organisation, you will become a dissenting voice. Constructive criticism drives progress and improvement, but destructive criticism hampers and undermines. If you have constructive criticism, and you want to remain within an improved version of the construct, then change the construct from within. Be positive and actively seek to improve matters. If you have only negative criticisms, leave the construct and move towards a different one that you positively identify with, and are prepared to support. The new construct may have its flaws, but be prepared to actively engage in supporting and improving a construct rather than whining about it. Whining is passive. Activity can change things.
The raising of individual consciousness is the way forward, beyond blame and claims of oppression. I must make clear that I am not talking about people who are genuinely being oppressed, as they need the help of outside forces to free them. I speak of people who blame their circumstances on the mysterious, conspiratorial “They”. “They” are oppressing me, “They ” are controlling me. In modern times, each individual allows what some may term “oppression”. We in Western societies are not forcibly coerced as people in many countries are where freedom of speech is met with captivity, torture and death. Our coercion, if it exists, is monetary. We are not forced with violence, but rather seduced by shiny objects in return for our tacit acceptance of the hierarchy.
We are fundamentally irresponsible. This is individualistic in its viewpoint, but we are all ultimately responsible for our moods, thoughts, speech and actions. Our lives can lead wherever we see fit due to our social support systems. Education is available to anyone who wants it. We all give up our right to self determinism and growth in return for the ability to blame “Them” for our situation. It’s the media, they made me do it. I can’t resist the adverts. I want to be a celebrity etc. Free will and self awareness are out the window at this point. “They” get the blame for everything. The whining, (often self) marginalised minorities are waiting to be awarded the power that only they believe they deserve. Power has to be taken, wrenched away from those that hold it, by powerful actions and group strength. Passively whining about how unfair the world is to people who dont care does not, and will not work. If the power is being maintained consensually, leave, and accept the consequences.
We can move to a different country. We can work for ourselves and rise to wherever we want to be through work or education. What is “suppressing” or “oppressing” you right now? If something is, break its hold over you. Withdraw your consent. If you struggle to identify “Them”, ask yourself: How are you not benefiting from the system around you?