5 / 27
31
From Oppression to Empowerment
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 )
F
OUR
F
ORMS OF
O
PPRESSION
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.
I
NTERNATIONAL
A
NARCHY
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