By LEONARDO BOFF*
The likely fact that a woman, Kamala Harris, would become president of the most powerful country in the world would represent a decisive step towards a new paradigm of cooperation between the sexes
The real possibility that a woman, Kamala Harris, will become president of the imperial power, the United States of America, would represent a novelty in the history of that country and a step forward in the relationship between genders.
The USA, independent since 1776, has had 44 presidents, all men and none women. As others have already pointed out, many see the president exclusively as the head of the Armed Forces, the one who can use the red phone and press the button to launch a nuclear war. Few consider him as the promoter of the common good, left to society itself, with a privatist bias, but with a very strong sense of community.
That's why the USA keeps waging wars everywhere. Virtually all presidents, including Barack Obama, feel imbued with “manifest destiny,” the (imaginary) belief that the United States is anointed as “that new people of God with the mission of bringing (bourgeois) democracy, human rights (individual) humans and freedom (of the market) for the world”.
Since the triumph of patriarchy in the Neolithic, which emerged ten thousand years ago, with the formation of villages and agriculture, women have always been relegated to the private world. Even though we know that before, twenty thousand years ago, matriarchy prevailed, forming egalitarian societies, integrated with nature and deeply spiritual.
Patriarchy, the predominance of the male (machismo) was one of the greatest mistakes in human history. The type of State we have is attributed to patriarchy, the creation of bureaucracy and taxes, the introduction of war, violence as a way of solving problems, the private appropriation of land, the generation of inequalities and all types of discrimination. In capitalism, in its various forms, it gained its most expressive configuration, with the immense rate of social inequity it carries with it.
Throughout this process, the main victims were women, along with those deprived of strength and power. Since then, the destiny of women, in historical-social terms, has been defined based on the man who occupied every public space.
But slowly, starting in the United States, in the 19th century, women became aware of their identity and autonomy. The feminist movement grew, became active in practically all countries and occupied public spaces. Entering universities and, having qualified, into the job market, women introduced their unique (non-exclusive) values as women: more given to collaboration than to competition, typical of men, more care, more flexibility, more ability to deal with complexity , more human sensitivity, more heart, finally, more open to dialogue, imposing limits on sexist and patriarchal authoritarianism.
In a word, they brought more humanity to a rational, rigid, competitive, efficient world, marked by the will to power as domination: the world of men. They, by their nature, represent the will to live, to care and to relate. In Jungian language, they became rich with their soul the mute of animus.
Even so, the fight for gender equality is far from being fully assured. It was only in 1920 that women gained the right to vote in the United States. In Brazil, in 1932, today 52% are female voters. Of the 500 largest North American companies, only three women hold the role of president (CEO). In other companies, only 11,8%. In Brazil it is a little more: 17% of them are company presidents.
Even within the limitations imposed by the dominant patriarchy in the world, many women became heads of state: in Germany, England, Brazil, Argentina, India, Liberia, Bangladesh, Tunisia, Ethiopia, Tanzania, in Canada, Chile, Costa Rica, Honduras, Panama, South Korea, Philippines, Indonesia, Israel, Nepal, Slovakia, Estonia, Finland, Greece, Hungary, Ireland , in Portugal, New Zealand and other countries.
Now comes the chance for a mixed-race woman, Kamala Harris, to reach the center of imperial power as president. It would mean the empowerment of women's identity and relational autonomy.
In this context, it is worth quoting a sentence from the United Nations Population Fund back in 2001: “The human race has been plundering the Earth in an unsustainable way; and giving women greater decision-making power over their future can save the planet from destruction.” We are not talking about simple participation, but about decision.
With their decision-making capacity, the creation of a new paradigm is significantly reinforced: that of reciprocity, that of mutuality between man and woman. The androgenic: the new human being, the man rescuing his dimension of soul, with the help of women, it is worth saying, the capacity for tenderness, unreserved delivery, cordial sensitivity, together with their dimension of animus. The woman developing her animus, that is, your capacity for initiative, creativity, operational intelligence, direction together with your soul becomes a significant historical force.
In this way, the truth that the ancient myth wanted to express is rescued: the human being is androgynous, a complete being, each one is a carrier, to their own degree, of the soul and animus. It turns out that this one androgynous being was cut in half. The man and the woman appeared, but separately. However, in their deep unconscious, they are always looking for each other. A force of attraction seeks to unite them and restore their original unity.
The ancient war of the sexes and oppressive and repressive gender policies would be progressively overcome. Politically, the best way to characterize this civilizational advance would be participatory, socio-ecological democracy, in which men and women, in a cooperative and supportive way, would build a new world. This responds to the deepest desires of the human psyche. The re-engendering of man will only take place through the new feminine, as a socio-historical force.
The likely fact that a woman, Kamala Harris, will become president of the most powerful country in the world would represent a decisive step towards a new paradigm of cooperation between the sexes, also including the nature of which both are part. This is what is expected for the future, if it still exists. Spes versus spem.
*Leonardo Boff He is a theologian, philosopher and writer. Author, among other books, of The quest for fair measure: how to balance planet Earth (Nobilis Voices). [https://amzn.to/3SLFBPP]
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