One of the ways you can tell that a social structure is unhealthy (and even cultic) is by the presence of what I call "hierarchies of human worth."

The suffix "archy" means "to rule" or "to be first." Hierarchies are rigid structures that grade and order things from first to last, and if we apply order to things, hierarchies can be very useful.

Think of the PEMDAS hierarchy that helps you make sense of mathematical equations, or the flowchart hierarchy of a good computer program. Equations and programs simply wouldn't work without hierarchical processes.

But if humans and other living things are thrown into hierarchies, you will see damage to empathy, emotional functioning, and social functioning throughout the hierarchical system. You will also see violence -- physical, emotional, social, spiritual, sexual, relational, etc. -- throughout these rigid structures. Hierarchies are for things and processes; they're not for not living beings. Patriarchy is a hierarchy of human worth, and the damage we see is absolutely to be expected -- especially when there are only two class members: Men and boys ruling, and women and girls being ruled. It's a dangerously simple-minded structure that brings damage to everyone trapped inside it. The solution is not to move to yet another archy; it's to reimagine ways of being human, of working together in social groups, and of reimagining power structures that are not inherently violent.

The problem is not in men as a category or in patri as a prefix. The problem is the archy.

Mentioned in this episode:

Frans de Waal on the truth about alphas: https://youtu.be/BPsSKKL8N0s?si=fz1LFAr987kfti10

A good critique of the CNN story by Joshua Goldberg at Substack: https://substack.com/home/post/p-194481801

My books The Power of Emotions at Work and (with Janja Lalich) Escaping Utopia: https://bookshop.org/lists/karla-mclaren-s-books