Book Description

By the author of the bestselling Some bodies and Nobodies: Overcoming the Abuse of Rank Argues that rankism--abuse of the power that comes with superior rank--does serious damage to our private relationships and public institutions Details how to design social institutions that overcome rankism and protect human dignity Learn more at www.BreakingRanks.net In his groundbreaking book Some bodies and Nobodies, Robert Fuller identified a form of domination that everyone has experienced but few dare to protest: rankism, abuse of the power inherent in rank to exploit and humiliate someone of lower rank. It plays a role in just about every form of social oppression n racism, sexism, homophobia, and religious intolerance all have a significant element of rankism in them. Most everyone has felt the sting of rankism--at the hands of a dictatorial boss, a condescending teacher, an arrogant doctor, or an imperious bureaucrat. But, equally, most everyone has inflicted it on someone of lower rank. That we are, all of us, both victims and perpetrators of rankism mandates a novel, multifaceted strategy for confronting it. Fuller isn't proposing that we do away with rank--without it organizations become dysfunctional. He's not advocating an egalitarian society where all are equal in rank but rather a ''dignitarian'' one where all are equal in dignity: a society in which rank holders are held accountable, rankism is shunned, and dignity is broadly protected. In All Rise, Fuller lays the groundwork for a dignitarian society by delineating the scope and impact of rankism and then shows how a dignitarian movement can defeat it by addressing issues such as: What would workplaces, schools, health-care organizations, politics, religion, and international relations look like if they were to embody dignitarian values? What policies could we develop to defend dignity in our various social institutions? How can we embody these principles in our lives and create a culture of universal dignity? All Rise offers hope and practical solutions for fashioning a world where human relationships are governed by respect and every person's right to dignity is affirmed.