“We” the problem… thoughts about men and power

I have been realizing recently that even nowdays, men still suffer from this “hunger” for power
…let me explain.

I would argue that debates are the best way to validate or not the ideas and most importantly the ethos of an individual (famous or not) based on the way they respond (or don’t) to their peers. For this reason I watched HasanAbi’s Yale debate, it blew my mind and not in a good way.

Concerning power and domination

I have empirically observed that in debates that are mostly political (that do not involve religious matters), women usually nurture a collaborative spirit and cooperation. Men usually express either “power” explicitly as a desire for control or their fear of being dominated disguised under hatred.

• Who is going to dominate whom?
• What part of the population, is going to harm the other?

We see “domination” over other people as a ‘key’ aspect of our culture and politics. Collaboration and cooperation for men, many times, might seem as weakness.

But why do ‘men’ have this notion of power and domination?

• Is it engraved in our DNA? If yes, how did early cultures/nomads exist? What are the earliest examples of power & domination in history?
• Culturally created due to theocratic teachings?
• Can material analysis explain ‘domination’ as an aftereffect of ownership and greed?

Honestly? I have no idea. However, I remember reading a writer’s preface to a Leon Trotsky’s pamphlet (“What is National Socialism?”, 1933), where the author notes that: “authoritarianism in all spaces and institutions derives from the dismantling of critical thinking as it is gradually effected by the school, the mass media, and even by the political parties, advertising techniques, subculture, the power of television and the lifestyle models it projects weaken values —which have human beings at their center— generating a deficit of values and an uncritical acceptance of the system’s ideology. However, under conditions of crisis and when people become disappointed with the Left and seek saviors, this can evolve into an uncritical acceptance of neo-fascism”. These words still resonates hard, 15 years from when I first read them.

Just like, in the 1930s, we are now in a crisis of men, their relationship with women, the contempt towards women and towards values (western or otherwise). Young men, try to find their place through easy solutions that boost their ego. “it’s us vs them, or they will replace us” mentality. 100 years later and history does a 360-degree turn and we find ourselves in the same place. men fighting imaginary dragons while the bourgeoisie laugh, watching the world burn.

About chivalry

I remember when it was considered noble of young men, to open the door, so that a woman may pass first through a door. Standing up on the bus for an older person to sit and stupid little things like this. I remember the notion of just being a gentleman, emphasis on gentle, not a brutal and nihilist (and believe me I love being a optimistic nihilist).

Now, how the fuck did we end up in the same place?
Did we lose our ideals of chivalry or maybe they were always “performative”, lacking substance?
Are we going to walk on the same destructive path, like 100 years ago?

I have no idea, but like Trotsky noted back in 1933, if leftists are not capable to guide and most importantly to inspire in these times, then honestly, we must fear the worst.