From Oppression to Empowerment

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From Oppression to Empowerment

F OUR F ORMS OF O PPRESSION

slogans about the equality of all hu- man beings sufficient if the interna- tional order does not embody those ideas ( World Order 42–43). It is no- table that Marxist theory has never proposed a global approach to social problems. While Marxism advocates the international solidarity of the workers of the world, its actual ap- proach to globalism is the demolition of all the states in the world—in other words, the extension of anarchy to the global level of social reality. Organic theories of state and soci- ety were prevalent in the nineteenth century, but Bahá’u’lláh found them inadequate because they centered on the nation, and it was not merely the nation but all of humanity which had now assumed an objective organic and interconnected character. As He wrote in His Tablet to Queen Victoria, ad- dressing the elected representatives of governments, Regard the world as the human body which, though at its creation whole and perfect, hath been af- flicted, through various causes, with grave disorders and mala- dies. Not for one day did it gain ease, nay its sickness waxed more severe, as it fell under the treat- ment of ignorant physicians, who gave full rein to their personal desires and have erred grievously. And if, at one time, through the care of an able physician, a mem- ber of that body was healed, the rest remained afflicted as before. (Súriy-i-Haykal, ¶174 )

Oppression takes four main forms, all of which are ultimately rooted in a materialist worldview that sees human beings in terms of the law of nature and the logic of the jungle. They pertain to the international political structure, the economic structure of various societies, forms of the state, and forms of cultural identity. Most discussions of oppression focus on forms related to the economy and the state, while neglecting the other two types. The first form of oppression is related to the current political structure of the world. Although it is increasingly recognized that humanity has arrived at the global stage of its development, contemporary globalization has been characterized by anarchy and the law of the jungle at the level of in- ternational relations. It is ironic that although both Marxist theory and political science realism emphasize the causal primacy of structures over individual units, both theories ignore the fact that the existence of anarchy in international relations constitutes one of the most important reasons for inequality, tyranny, and oppression in the world. Because of the oneness and interconnectedness of the world today, most of humanity’s problems cannot be solved through a national- istic political approach. Nor, as noted by Shoghi Effendi, are merely pious I NTERNATIONAL A NARCHY