RSFIC is a private operating foundation building long-term, systemic resilience in Iowa City. We say "rizz-fick!"
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When people can act without facing all of the consequences of their actions, an imbalance forms and those people are pushed towards more and more selfish, individualist actions. At RSFIC we talk about this as a "lack of feedback." For example, big companies can strip-mine the land because they don't have to drink the water. They can build data centers because they can build them far away from their own homes. The fast-fashion CEO doesn't feel bad about making children across the world stitch school uniforms for his own kids because he isn't getting enough feedback about the consequences of his actions. He feels separate and isn't taking responsibility for his power.
This imbalanced force pushes on every little decision we make. Billions of impulses, each building up our whole system's momentum towards disaster.
Craig shared an interesting essay with me[1] that identifies this imbalanced force as "privilege." The essay calls out that extreme privilege is not only a moral failing of an individual person, but also a symptom of an unhealthy, unbalanced system overall. The author says that pathological privilege is disproportionate access to power without the corresponding responsibility. Uncle Ben with a PhD!
Pathology emerges when a subsystem of one or more individuals gains disproportionate access to resources or control while becoming insulated from the negative consequences of its actions. Such insulation suppresses corrective feedback, impairs learning, and often leads to cascading failure. The crisis to which humanity’s Imperial Era has led is a direct consequence of systemic privilege enjoyed by the few.
- David C. Korten in "The Living Universe Story"
I think this is a useful way of looking at privilege because it makes it clear that privilege itself is an unhealthy thing.
I've seen a lot of DEI initiatives that aim to share privilege with more people. "Let's get underrepresented folks into coding, AI, financial education, housing ownership, and all the other ways to get rich!" But the essay points out that we shouldn't be trying to distribute privilege to make sure every person has it - we should be trying to eliminate privilege itself.
What if companies started constraining themselves to work that doesn't have unjust externalities? At the last GPAS community conversation, Sikowis shared experience working with a police chief in a program digging into the negative systemic impacts of our carceral system. I think that sort of training, which helps leaders take personal responsibility for all of the impacts of their work, might go quite a bit further towards equality and diversity than the average DEI workshop. Our goal shouldn't be to include more people in the companies profiting from unjust externalities.
[1]: Warning: includes AI-generated content. https://davidkorten.org/the-living-universe-story-landing-page/
At RSFIC we are working towards an Iowa City where we're in right relationship with nature and each other. Our strategies include relocalizing power, consuming less, growing solidarity & de-growing individualism, demonstrating integrity, and demonstrating humility. We believe each of these strategic values work in positive ways towards diverse, redundant, adaptive forces that build systemic resilience.
On Wednesday, July 8th, we're holding our second Neighborhood Resilience Group (NRG) skill-share. NRGs are groups of neighbors working together towards a common vision of resilience in their neighborhoods, and these skill-shares are casual events to connect across groups. This one will be open to the public. The subject is neighborhood invites & marketing - how do we successfully invite neighbors we might not know very well?
Sharing skills and information locally and taking responsibility for things ourselves is one of the most effective ways we know to dismantle privilege. It creates local pressure to account for ourselves and externalize fewer negative consequences onto others in weaker positions.
I'd also call your attention to a few other organizations that we feel are aligned with our strategic values. Pick one you don't know much about and check it out!
This is not an exhaustive list - there are hundreds of great organizations in Iowa City - but these come to mind as groups specifically aimed at abolishing different types of privilege itself.
The essay Craig shared urges us to start thinking of ourselves as part of a huge living being, rather than separate creatures who can act individually. I've thought in similar ways since I was little, raised in the Quaker tradition that there is that of God in everyone. But the essay includes a thought from Joanna Macy: the pain we feel for the world is literally the world feeling through us. Even after decades of feeling like a peer within nature, I hadn't thought in such concrete terms that my feelings are literally some of all creation's feelings.
I don't know if that will make sense to you, but I share it just in case it clicks for you like it did for me.
Martha has helped us enormously over the years make our space a place that can empower and unite people from all over Iowa City, and in the past weeks she & Kim have been stewarding and shaping the space even more. Claire & Roger helped us host folks in the space this week, and Demetrius found us a bike rack to make it easier to get to the space in the first place! We really appreciate it. I think I've missed a few folks in the last couple weeks - still getting in the swing of our volunteer trackers - but I also just want to send out a general thanks to everyone working on ushering in a resilient, sustainable future. I'm so grateful to be part of such an optimistic and nourishing movement.
Peace,
Riley
RSFIC is a private operating foundation building long-term, systemic resilience in Iowa City. We say "rizz-fick!"
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