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A Manifesto by Carol Moore June 2006 version of article originally published in Liberty Magazine, November, 1991 (Plus relevant 1992 Letter from MS. Magazine's then-Editor Robin Morgan. ) |
Patriarchy and
Patriotism
Patriarchy and patriotism — both from the same root word, pater
(father)
— are simply two sides of the same authoritarian coin. Patriarchy is
the
ideology that males should rule. Patriotism is the worship of
male-dominated
states. Males have created — and still create — political culture
worldwide,
so it’s no surprise that male values, needs and ambitions dominate.
Male-dominated culture — patriarchy — discourages individual men and
women
from expressing the mix of assertion and cooperation, independence and
compassion that is natural to individual men and women. Our culture
indoctrinates
men — often savagely —into dominance and aggression, and bullies women
into dependence and passivity.
What would seem to be
the primary value of human culture, the one for which all must be
sacrificed? I believe it is
the need for males to prove manhood
– personally, politically and militarily, and especially through the use of violence.
This value will soon
destroy the world if women and sensible,
non-dominating men, do not create a new culture that values the
nonviolent self-actualization of all peoples. A secondary
motivation is obtaining enough personal wealth to woo, marry and keep
the most desirable woman, and in some cases to keep a mistress or two
on the side.
To deal with this sad situation, feminists have offered a variety of
solutions,
most of them related to laws and regulations created and enforced by --
the male dominated state. Too often liberal feminist
groups
effectively have sold out to the state because it seems to offer a
certain amount of
equality and power to those women who go along with its male-created
goals.
Others sell out for the welfare benefits offered by a paternalistic
state. Thus the motto used by many anti-authoritarians "The welfare
state is the warfare state." However, anti-authoritarian women
offer another solution.
Anti-Authoritarian
Women
Anti-authoritarian women — self-identified feminists and those
rejecting
any label -- be they anarchists, libertarians, decentralists or
ecofeminists
reject power in the male-created dominated states. They reject in
theory the welfare benefits it offers, though in practice they may
accept
them in situations of dire need.
Instead, anti-authoritarian women insist that men give women an equal
say
in the creation of the attitudes and structures forming our cultural,
economic
and political institutions. They want these to reflect women’s values
and
needs as well as men’s. If that means starting from scratch, so be
it!
(Unfortunately, in recent years some anti-authoritarian women have
bought
male arguments that corporations are more dangerous than the state and
that we can't abolish government welfare until we create alternatives,
ignoring the fact that necessity is the mother of invention!)
Anti-authoritarian women know that males maintain their dominance
primarily
through the threat and practice of personal, political and military
violence.
They see a spectrum of male violence from violent pornography, forced
prostitution,
child abuse, woman-battering, activist violence, criminal and police
violence,
political oppression, and environmental destruction on to weaponry,
militarism
and war. (See an excerpt
from feminist Robin Morgan's book
The Demon Lover: On the
Sexuality of Terrorism for a description of how violent males
co-opt
woman-initiated nonviolent movements. Also see my 2001 article The
Return of Street Fighting Man: The Pathology of the New Progressive
Violence)
Anti-authoritarian women go beyond opposing mere initiation of force,
distrusting
the violence some libertarian men, left and right, revel in when they
discuss
personal or national defense or political revolution. Such women
believe
only a culture as free as possible of violence can ensure women’s
freedom.
The Nation State as
Epitome
of Male Violence
Anti-authoritarian women recognize that institutionalized violence
results
in centralized, elite control of economies, which entails inequality
and
poverty for women and powerless classes. (Some call this “structural
violence,”
but it boils down to real violence: economically unjust laws enforced
by
threats of police violence.)
So long as it remains legitimate for men to dream of gaining and
maintaining
centralized power through revolutionary or state violence, violence
against
individual women will remain a small matter. Therefore
anti-authoritarian
women are not merely estranged from male-dominated nation states; they
reject their legitimacy and defacto seek their abolition.
Anti-authoritarian
women decry the fact that large nation states control the most personal
aspects
of their lives, destroy local economies and communities, despoil the
environment,
and use military might to control their citizens and threaten people of
other nations.
Anti-authoritrian women know that putting an end to male personal,
political
and military violence will mean the rapid dissolution of the nation
state
system. The threat or use of police and military violence created and
maintains
almost all nation states. As the uprisings in
the
Soviet Union and Yugoslavia have shown, empires and nation states
quickly
begin to dissolve into smaller ethnic, religious, racial, or regional
entities
once that threat weakens. (See my article Non-Violence
and Decentralization which argues that a society organized
on
principles of non-violence would result in the dissolution of large
nation
states.)
Antiauthoritarian women believe that women have the least to lose and
the
most to gain from the dissolution of centralized nation states.
They
know that as long as people believe the patriarchal nation state is
legitimate
— as long as it survives — males will retain disproportionate economic,
personal and political power over women. They will continue to deprive
women of the respect, love, and opportunity that women merit. And they
will continue their war against other nation states and against “mother
nature.”
The Alternative to
Nation
States: Confederated Communities
Anti-authoritarian women offer as an alternative to the nation state
decentralized,
non-violent communities joined only in a variety of voluntary regional,
continental and worldwide confederations. (See my site Secession.Net
for more details. Also see my review of Sonia Johnson's book Wildfire:
Igniting the She!volution.)
Women hold diverse visions of the political, social and economic makeup
of the ideal community. Men and women might create an endless variety
of
communities once freed from centralized control: women’s communities,
gay
and lesbian communities, religious communities, “proprietary”
communities
run like hotels, socialist communities, wilderness protection
communities,
farm-based communities, urban yuppie communities, business park
communities,
etc. Their sizes could range from a few thousand to several hundred
thousand
individuals.
To prevent communities from becoming mere patriarchal mini-despotisms,
anti-authoritarian women promote consensual decision-making and
non-violent
sanctions. To be truly democratic, and to avoid the unfair deal-making
that characterizes systems of majority rule, decisions should be made
with
the maximum of consensus. Unless individuals enter a community under
explicit
contractual arrangements, a super-majority of 75% or more should be
required
for ratification of all decisions. In this way, communities would
create
only rules or laws that enjoy overwhelming support. Special interest
legislation
would be a thing of the past.
Confederations of communities, which would have strictly limited
powers,
also would use consensus decision-making in their assemblies of
representatives.
In both, all elected officers would be held to strict standards of
accountability
and serve a limited number of terms.
Violence would no longer be used to regulate society, enforce laws and
resolve conflicts. Non-violent sanctions such as peer pressure,
publicity,
boycott, and protest could be equally effective and less open to abuse.
These new forms of controls would eliminate the warrior ethic and
weapons
of war. Nonviolent civilian-based defense and peacekeeping would deal
with
the minor inter-community conflicts that might arise in a demilitarized
world.
Benefits of Radical
Decentralization/Abolition
of Nation States
Of course, radical decentralization of power will be achieved only when
a critical mass of citizens adopts the values that society
traditionally
has indoctrinated women into accepting: compassion, cooperation,
equality,
and nonviolence. Though it may be true that many men and women already
share these values, most undoubtedly remain afraid to challenge the
elites
that fiercely defend male dominance. Inspiring those sympathetic
individuals—
male and female — to work toward creating a society based upon such
humane
and libertarian values is our most important task. Creating such
a society may not be as difficult as it seems, for the benefits of
decentralization
may inspire women to take the risks necessary to achieve them.
Increase Love and
Respect:
Even in advanced societies, male-dominated families, schools, churches,
work places, media, legal and political systems, as well as individual
men, continue to hammer away at women’s self-confidence and
self-esteem.
A recent study shows women are twice as likely as men to suffer
depression
because of pessimistic attitudes, the stresses of child care, poverty,
and sexual and physical abuse.
Women remain dependent upon — even addicted to — their romantic
relationships
with men. The desire to gain and keep a man’s love remains most women’s
strongest motivation. Self-help books like The Cinderella
Complex,
Women Who Love Too Much, and Men who Hate Women and the Women
Who
Love Them sell millions.
Women must realize that so long as the patriarchal nation state
survives
men retain the delusion that they are superior to women who are at the
“bottom of the hierarchy.” They will continue to deprive women of
respect,
love, and opportunity. When women challenge the legitimacy of the
nation
state, they deprive men of the ultimate trappings of pride and power.
If enough women call for the abolition of the patriarchal state, they
might
convince men that women are serious about demands for liberation.
Eventually,
men might give women love and respect equal to that which women have
traditionally
given men.
Increase Choices
for
Families: Marriange should be a contractual situation
between
two individuals who write up the contract before marriage, with means
of
altering it specified in the original contract. The pre-nupital
agreement
also should specify alimony and child support under the specific
anticipated
and other contingent circumstances, with means of adjusting the divorce
settlement if some unexpected circumstances happen (rich husband loses
money and becomes disabled while poor wife wins the lottery and marries
rich).
In a free society polygamy would be legal and people could arrange the
number of males and females watching whatever number of kids.
Plus
people could more easily create communal living situations now
effectively
outlawed by zoning laws that would allow retired people, etc to help
with
childcare.
In a free market there would be much greater job opportunities, higher
pay rates, lower basic expenses and job flexibility so that both males
and females could work part-time, job share, etc. so that both
husband(s)
and wive(s) could share child care duties.
End Political Oppression: The patriarchal nation state ruthlessly suppresses all threats to its authority. Most nation states play off racial, ethnic, religious, cultural and regional factions, manipulatively giving and taking away rights and privileges. Most abridge the rights to freedom of speech, press and association, to protest, privacy, fair trial, etc., usually in the interest of “national security.” Government controlled education and mass media are often mere propaganda vehicles. But once we end the patriarchal game of competition for power and control, many conflicts between factions will diminish or resolve non-violently.
Equalize
Political
Power:
Worldwide, the vast majority of elected and de facto representatives
and
rulers of nation states — and of constituent states and city
governments
as well — are men. Irritable husbands, family and child-care
obligations,
the inability to raise money or mobilize supporters, and direct rebuffs
from male politicians have discouraged women from entering politics.
Meanwhile
older males have continued to teach younger ones the ropes and give
them
the resources to enter the political arena. Finally, many women find
the
male struggle for political power so distasteful that they leave
politics
to men, thus ensuring their continued dominance.
Community government, the one political arena where women have the most
interest and the most influence, is increasingly under the control of
male-dominated
national governments. But once we bring 98% of political decision
making
down to the community level, it will be open equally to all, not just
politically
savvy men.
Minimize Violence
and
Crime:
Crime is a side effect of patriarchy. Most hard-core criminals are
victims
of poverty and child abuse. But many are men simply carrying
patriarchal
violence to its logical extreme, wantonly resorting to theft,
blackmail,
extortion, battery, rape and murder.
Recently, this tendency has escalated because of the patriarchal “war
on
drugs.” Male elites distrust psychoactive, “consciousness expanding”
drugs
because individuals using them tend to question patriarchal lifestyles.
Authorities prefer to punish rather than heal those who abuse drugs.
The
crackdown on drugs has driven up prices, turned unemployed ghetto
youths
into criminals, and has wound up creating more powerful and harmful
drugs
than those originally outlawed.
Ending poverty, eliminating patriarchal violence, fostering compassion
and cooperation, and educating individuals about drug use and abuse
would
eliminate the most heinous crimes. As much as possible, communities
would
deal with non-violent crime by non-violent means such as publicity,
fines
and expulsion.
End Economic
Exploitation:
Male culture demands men strive for wealth in addition to power, using
state power to take economic advantage of the weak. Patriarchy stifles
compassionate ideas of voluntary redistribution of wealth from the
financially
talented to impoverished individuals and worthy charitable and
community
efforts.
As the failures of socialism have shown, socialist states become little
more than bureaucratic battlegrounds for dominant males. They crush
economic
initiative, productivity and efficiency. In state capitalism,
competitive
males know that gaining access to state power and gaining great wealth
go hand in hand. Many “evils of capitalism and the free market” are
really
the evil consequences of patriarchy.
Through taxation and inflation nation states rob citizens of 30% to 75%
of their incomes. The money goes to military spending, to subsidize big
corporations or inefficient state-owned enterprises, and to support
bloated
bureaucracies and their bureaucrats. National laws centralize and
cartelize
critical industries, especially banking, finance, insurance, utilities,
transportation, housing, farming and the medical and legal professions.
Elites benefit while workers, small business, and local economies
suffer.
However, without the support of national governments, big government
bureaucracies
would collapse and corporations would go broke or dissolve under the
pressure
of competition. Workers, small businesses and local communities would
see
an explosion of opportunities that would allow women’s businesses and
cooperatives
— and businesses sensitive to women’s needs — to flourish. See my
mid-1980s article Local Economics
which
describes that movement for individual and local economic
self-determination
vs. big government and big corporate rule.)
Improve Social Welfare: Social welfare programs are the great bribe nation states use to mollify their people. Bureaucrats running these programs have a vested interest in keeping people dependent and impoverished; their jobs depend on it. State-provided social security, welfare, medical care, education, child care, etc. are usually poor alternatives to what an efficient economy, compassionate voluntary organizations, and systematic voluntary redistribution of wealth can provide. The truth is, national governments use social welfare programs to excuse the larger wrongs done in the name of the nation state.
Protect the Environment: Eco-feminists point out the psycho-social connection between the subjugation of women and the “rape of mother earth.” Nature is just another “resource” to be used in the male quest for wealth and power. National governments promote and subsidize environmentally destructive projects, permit the careless exploitation of “public” land, sanction poisonous levels of pollution, and build and use environmentally destructive military weapons. A culture influenced by women’s values would extend compassion to nature and create sustainable economic and conservative environmental attitudes and institutions.
Strategy
Women have worked to end the cruelties of patriarchy — sexist language
and behavior, discrimination, rape, woman battering, militarism and
war.
Now women must lead the struggle against the cruelest patriarchal
institution
— the nation state. Promoting and organizing for secession is the
best strategy to achieve radical political decentralization. (See
my site Secession.Net.)
Once
enough women grasp this idea and begin to act on it — and enough men
join
us — the real revolution toward freedom, peace and justice worldwide
will
have begun.
Copyright 2006 by Carol Moore. Permission to reprint freely granted, provided the article is reprinted in full and that any reprint is accompanied by this copyright statement and the URL http://www.carolmoore.net.
