October 6, 2019
Susan Coleman interviews Riane Eisler and Douglas P. Fry, co-authors of Nurturing our Humanity: How Domination and Partnership Shape our Brains, Lives and Future, in this 60-minute interview, part of the Peacebuilding Podcast series.
In their conversation, Eisler and Fry use a ?biocultural? lens to examine how cultural values are changing, and the inherent gender aspects of our current domination (power over) social system and an emerging partnership (power with) system. Coleman comments: ?What Riane so clearly adds to this discussion is that all domination systems, whether they are left or right, are always characterized by rigid gender stereotypes?.
Eisler and Fry share a some of the most positive aspects of partnership societies:
- Narrower gender gaps
- An investment in people starting from early childhood
- No homelessness
- Violence is minimized
- Military budgets are just a few percentages of government spending (compared to $.57 on the dollar in the US)
- In the highest ranks of the global competitiveness indices
- People are the happiest
The pleasure centers in our brain light up more when we share than when we win. ?Riane Eisler
Picking up on evidence presented by Eisler and Fry in Nurturing our Humanity that shows how peaceful partnership societies existed globally for thousands of years, Coleman adds: ?So many smart people that I talk to believe humans have always been violent, and that there has always been war. But, there?s a lot of evidence that this is just not true. And there is also plenty of evidence that during those times, men and women lived together as equals and that, in many societies, the Divine was often a revered goddess, and maybe even a super sexy one?.
Listen to the full 60-minute podcast:
Short soundbite: Riane Eisler
Short soundbite: Douglas P. Fry
[…] up on evidence presented by Eisler and Fry, Nurturing our Humanity shows how peaceful partnership societies existed globally for thousands of years, Coleman adds: […]