Robert Fuller, author of Somebodies and Nobodies and All Rise, has coined a great term: rankism. He says rankism is the mother of all isms - sexism, racism and so on, because at the other of all isms lies a power advantage that one has over another. Of course, it's not power that's the problem, but abuses of power.
Obviously, some people use colour or gender (or whatever it is) to outline their claim of supremacy over others - but lying at the heart of all this is the issue of power.
Viewed in this context, all abuses of power - eg a doctor abusing a nurse, a professor exploiting a graduate student or a boss bullying a subordinate qualify as forms of rankism.
(email me your comments at cvdhruve@gmail.com)
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About Me
- Chetan Dhruve
- I'm the author of the book, "Why Your Boss is Programmed to be a Dictator". The book examines boss behaviour through the lens of Systems Thinking (you can find out more on my personal website, cvdhruve.com). I've worked for a variety of large organisations such as Cisco, IBM and the British Civil Service (Department for International Development, which is the aid wing of the Foreign Office). I have an MBA from Cass Business School in London, an MA in international journalism from City University (London) and a Bachelors in Physics, Electronics and Maths from Bangalore University (Bangalore).