I have just finished reading this book called the "Immortals of Meluha", by Amish Tripathi. The book intersperses Indian history with Indian mythology to create a spell-binding plot. Whilst the story is fascinating, what I found more interesting was the author's take on societal change....
The author suggests that societies are either predominantly 'Masculine' or 'Feminine'. Male societies are described as orderly, lawful and very rigid much like monarchies whereas female societies described as free, romantic and fluid much like democracies. He proposes that when 'masculine' societies reach their zenith, the rulers i.e. kings tend to get drunk on power and the rules get rigid with people becoming very unhappy and wanting a revolution. Society then goes through a dynamic shift to take on a more 'feminine' role - a democracy where people have the freedom to choose and pursue whatever they want. He also suggests that when 'feminine' societies reach their pinnacle, they are messy, chaotic and bureaucratic and cause a shift towards a more masculine system...and so the cycle continues.
I agree this is a very simplistic explanation, but it caused me to look back at world history and think. Didn't most of the world live in the 'monarchical' form in the past - and mind you a lot of progress was made in this system - think of China and India...and then it seems like the majority of the world went through this dynamic shift to embrace the more feminine side i.e. democracies...
With the Occupy movement, the arab spring and everything else happening around us, I wonder if we are in for another shift??
What do you think??
The author suggests that societies are either predominantly 'Masculine' or 'Feminine'. Male societies are described as orderly, lawful and very rigid much like monarchies whereas female societies described as free, romantic and fluid much like democracies. He proposes that when 'masculine' societies reach their zenith, the rulers i.e. kings tend to get drunk on power and the rules get rigid with people becoming very unhappy and wanting a revolution. Society then goes through a dynamic shift to take on a more 'feminine' role - a democracy where people have the freedom to choose and pursue whatever they want. He also suggests that when 'feminine' societies reach their pinnacle, they are messy, chaotic and bureaucratic and cause a shift towards a more masculine system...and so the cycle continues.
With the Occupy movement, the arab spring and everything else happening around us, I wonder if we are in for another shift??
What do you think??
1 comment:
I feel we are in for a different kind of shift - one where religion may take a more central role..
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