In my search for the root cause of poverty, I (Jytte Nhanenge) was grateful to share the insight of various clever thinkers, authors, and philosophers. I found a great deal of consistency in some of the information, and I was eventually able to combine the ideas and thoughts of many wise people into a harmonious and coherent whole, which became the book. Therefore, in many ways I feel that the book is more theirs, than mine. But of course, combining the insights into a consistent whole is entirely my responsibility and I am also accountable for any misinterpretations. Yet, the intelligent ideas, insights, thoughts, and realizations, belong to these wise people. Allow me just to mention a few of them, in alphabetic order: Alice Miller, Carolyn Merchant, Dorothy Rowe, E. F. Schumacher, Fritjof Capra, Hazel Henderson, Irene Dankelman and Joan Davidson, Ivone Gebara, James Robertson, Janis Birkeland, Joel Bakan, Joseph R. Des Jardins, Karen J. Warren, Maria Mies, Marthinus Versfeld, Noël Sturgeon, Paul Ekins, Rachel Carson, Richard B. Norgaard, Robert L. Heilbroner, Rosi Braidotti and Ewa Charkiewicz and Sabine Häusler and Saskia Wieringa, Val Plumwood, Vandana Shiva, and more.
This is the official summary of the book:
"This book is for those who desire to improve their understanding of the current crises of poverty, environmental destruction, violence, and human rights abuses, and their causes. It is an ecofeminist analysis of modern society's dualized, patriarchal structure, showing that reductionist, masculine, and quantitative (yang) perceptions inform science, economics, and technology, resulting in subordination of holistic, feminine, and qualitative (yin) values. This yin yang imbalance manifests as patriarchal domination of women, poor people, and nature leading to the above crises. Since similar values inform Third World Development, its activities are also exploitative. Thus, rather than improving human well-being, development increases poverty and natural degradation in the South. Modern Patriarchy manifests in neo-liberal policies that promote "free" global economic markets and trades, generating huge profits to the political and economic elites, with devastating results for societies and nature worldwide. Unless we increase our awareness and demand changes that balance the yang and yin forces, patriarchal domination will eradicate life on planet Earth."
"This book should be read by everyone who sincerely cares about saving Mother Earth and all life dependent on it. It is more than highly critical of modern society and its dominant institutions and knowledge system, which are subordinating society and exploiting nature in order to provide the elites with economic profit. By using an ecofeminist perspective, the book clarifies this tragic and unsustainable state of affairs as being a function of patriarchal domination, and explains its underlying concepts and roots. Despite its scholarship, every concept, theory, and idea presented is explained in plain English, making everything easy to understand....The book is a must reading for every literate person in the world; it is for those who are appreciative of scholarship; it is for those who want to understand the root causes of our present global crises; it is for those who want to improve their knowledge in order to increase their engagement in the current important discussions about necessary global changes; it is for those who want to present their demands more eloquently to political leaders and media; it is for those who want real change and improvement in the quality of life for society and nature and who are fed up with the eternal focus on economic profit; and it is for those who are not yet completely impoverished by the greed of Patriarchy and still have some funds available to buy the book. If you are out of funds, I would urge you to ask your library to acquire it." - Sustainability Education Network
In order to gain full understanding of patriarchal domination, it is valuable to read the book. If you find the book too expensive, and you have a local library, you may ask them kindly to take it home.
Although the book's main focus is on the situation in the South where the suffering is the greatest, the majority of the discussion is general. Patriarchy, and its domination of society and nature - which result in the four crises of poverty and inequality, war and violence, environmental destruction, and human rights abuses - was initiated by the North, and it now has a worldwide reach. Consequently, the Intsangano educational website is intending to cover issues relating to patriarchal domination and its dualist, reductionist worldview that manifests both in the North and in the South.
As a start to understand Patriarchy and its reductionist worldview, four core articles are presented here at the website. The articles explain and critique fundamental parts of the current reductionist and masculine yang worldview, but they also describe what a holistic and combined feminine masculine or yin yang worldview would entail. The articles are based on the ideas in the book. However, in order not to infringe copyrights, they are presented in re-written form.
The Intsangano educational website is based on the values in the book. In order to spread the information wider, the ideas are here presented in a brief form that is easy to access. Conclusively, the intention of this website is to improve our understanding of the global patriarchal domination under which we all live, so that we can change it into a more just and caring way of life for society and nature worldwide. Secrecy, complexity, manipulation, fear-mongering, surveillance and keeping people ignorant are patriarchal tools to avoid our resistance to and critique of their controlling, dominating, and unjust structures. It is difficult to overview all the web-like aspects of how Patriarchy functions. It is therefore important that we educate ourselves. Hence, when we understand how at least some parts of the system work, we can start taking our freedom back.
"Freedom is never voluntarily given by the oppressor; it must be demanded by the oppressed." Martin Luther King, Jr.