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The Book itself can be purchased from Amazon, or from her website. The book can also be downloaded from her site.
Introduction to the book
The world is a puzzling place. Like Alice in Wonderland, people rush to go nowhere, too many things don’t make sense, and the threat of losing one’s head is ever present. It seems as if humanity has fallen down the rabbit hole and cannot find a way out. Yet, there is hope. If we can understand how we got here and what keeps us here, we can go forward.
Society is divided into two groups of people: a few who wield immense power and the rest who feel varying degrees of powerlessness. As a result, conflicts over power dominate life. Between individuals, the struggle for power kills intimacy. On a social level, competition drives down living standards. On a global scale, the battle for dominance threatens human survival.
Power over others and lack of power are both corrupting. However, power — the ability to control events — can also liberate. Power is not the problem; the problem is unequal access to power. For more than a hundred-thousand years, our ancestors lived in cooperative, power-sharing societies. This book explains how the rule of reciprocity was overthrown and how it can be re-established.
My experience as a physician compelled me to write this book. As the sister of a disabled child, I thought that doctors had the power to end suffering, and I wanted that power. After I graduated from medical school, I learned how powerless doctors actually are. Most of my patients’ problems were rooted in family dynamics, financial difficulties, and conflicts at school and at work. I studied psychotherapy in the hope that combining mind and body skills would be more useful. It was — I could help people move from uncommon misery to common misery. The problems created by alienation, oppression, and exploitation remained beyond my control.
After listening to thousands of people’s stories, I have concluded that social power is necessary for human health. Most people lack the happy, healthy, fulfilling lives they deserve because they are kept powerless and mistakenly accept this state of affairs as natural or self-inflicted. In fact, most human suffering is preventable. This book reveals what must be done.
Part One explains that society does not arise from human nature. On the contrary, current social arrangements violate human nature. Part Two shows how power is divided by class. Part Three investigates how power and powerlessness are perpetuated. Part Four reveals how powerlessness can be transformed into power.
Knowing that the material in this book would be controversial, unbelievable to some, I carefully referenced every fact, every quote, and every contentious statement. To my dismay, the final draft contained more than 1,400 references spanning 70 pages. To make the book shorter and more affordable, I cut out most of these references; however, I will be happy to provide specific references on request.
A just world is possible. Human beings create society, and we can change it. The need for change is urgent. Everywhere, there is injustice, anguish, and anger. This book explains how society shapes people, how people shape society, and how powerlessness can be converted into the power to transform the world.
Psychologica, Newsletter of the Ontario Association of Consultants, Counsellors, Psychometrists and Psychotherapists (in press).
Reviewed by Liv Capozzi
Reprinted with the author’s permission.
POWER and Powerlessness is a poignant, well written book that connects politics, economics, and human health. Dr. Susan Rosenthal draws from personal experience, and years of professional experience as an MD psychotherapist, to illustrate how human suffering flows from an imbalance of social power. Absolutely unapologetic in her position, and with a thoroughly researched argument, she shows how capitalism robs most people of the power to shape their lives.
The book begins by dispelling the myth that modern social problems are a fundamental part of human existence. Dr. Rosenthal observes that, for most of human history, people relied on cooperation and reciprocity for survival. However, the division of society into classes created an unjust and traumatizing social structure that pits people against each other. While many rebel, others feel powerless in the face of their problems and endure them by disassociating.
Dr. Rosenthal contends that the ruling class relies on and reinforces this sense of powerlessness. As an example, she cites the myth of “The American Dream,” which insinuates that poverty results from a lack of personal effort. She also explains how cooperation is discouraged by emphasizing people’s differences and minimizing their similarities.
The book describes how powerless and trapped people feel within the capitalist machine. However, the book also provides hope for the future by emphasizing the human ability to overcome challenges. Dr. Rosenthal’s premise is that social problems require social solutions. The detailed exploration of these solutions evokes much thought on the role that mental health workers play.
Dr. Rosenthal argues that psychology is inherently political. Mental health professionals contribute to the experience of powerlessness (their own and their clients’) when they focus exclusively on the individual. While the treatment of individual suffering is important and necessary, ignoring the societal causes of distress leads to a blame-the-victim mentality. She provides a wealth of research to show that improving social conditions is the most effective way to improve individual health.
Reviewed by Liv Capozzi
Reprinted with the author’s permission.
POWER and Powerlessness is a poignant, well written book that connects politics, economics, and human health. Dr. Susan Rosenthal draws from personal experience, and years of professional experience as an MD psychotherapist, to illustrate how human suffering flows from an imbalance of social power. Absolutely unapologetic in her position, and with a thoroughly researched argument, she shows how capitalism robs most people of the power to shape their lives.
The book begins by dispelling the myth that modern social problems are a fundamental part of human existence. Dr. Rosenthal observes that, for most of human history, people relied on cooperation and reciprocity for survival. However, the division of society into classes created an unjust and traumatizing social structure that pits people against each other. While many rebel, others feel powerless in the face of their problems and endure them by disassociating.
Dr. Rosenthal contends that the ruling class relies on and reinforces this sense of powerlessness. As an example, she cites the myth of “The American Dream,” which insinuates that poverty results from a lack of personal effort. She also explains how cooperation is discouraged by emphasizing people’s differences and minimizing their similarities.
The book describes how powerless and trapped people feel within the capitalist machine. However, the book also provides hope for the future by emphasizing the human ability to overcome challenges. Dr. Rosenthal’s premise is that social problems require social solutions. The detailed exploration of these solutions evokes much thought on the role that mental health workers play.
Dr. Rosenthal argues that psychology is inherently political. Mental health professionals contribute to the experience of powerlessness (their own and their clients’) when they focus exclusively on the individual. While the treatment of individual suffering is important and necessary, ignoring the societal causes of distress leads to a blame-the-victim mentality. She provides a wealth of research to show that improving social conditions is the most effective way to improve individual health.
Introduction to the book
Their power — our powerlessness.
Our power — their powerlessness.
Each calls the other into being.
Our power — their powerlessness.
Each calls the other into being.
The world is a puzzling place. Like Alice in Wonderland, people rush to go nowhere, too many things don’t make sense, and the threat of losing one’s head is ever present. It seems as if humanity has fallen down the rabbit hole and cannot find a way out. Yet, there is hope. If we can understand how we got here and what keeps us here, we can go forward.
Society is divided into two groups of people: a few who wield immense power and the rest who feel varying degrees of powerlessness. As a result, conflicts over power dominate life. Between individuals, the struggle for power kills intimacy. On a social level, competition drives down living standards. On a global scale, the battle for dominance threatens human survival.
Power over others and lack of power are both corrupting. However, power — the ability to control events — can also liberate. Power is not the problem; the problem is unequal access to power. For more than a hundred-thousand years, our ancestors lived in cooperative, power-sharing societies. This book explains how the rule of reciprocity was overthrown and how it can be re-established.
My experience as a physician compelled me to write this book. As the sister of a disabled child, I thought that doctors had the power to end suffering, and I wanted that power. After I graduated from medical school, I learned how powerless doctors actually are. Most of my patients’ problems were rooted in family dynamics, financial difficulties, and conflicts at school and at work. I studied psychotherapy in the hope that combining mind and body skills would be more useful. It was — I could help people move from uncommon misery to common misery. The problems created by alienation, oppression, and exploitation remained beyond my control.
After listening to thousands of people’s stories, I have concluded that social power is necessary for human health. Most people lack the happy, healthy, fulfilling lives they deserve because they are kept powerless and mistakenly accept this state of affairs as natural or self-inflicted. In fact, most human suffering is preventable. This book reveals what must be done.
Part One explains that society does not arise from human nature. On the contrary, current social arrangements violate human nature. Part Two shows how power is divided by class. Part Three investigates how power and powerlessness are perpetuated. Part Four reveals how powerlessness can be transformed into power.
Knowing that the material in this book would be controversial, unbelievable to some, I carefully referenced every fact, every quote, and every contentious statement. To my dismay, the final draft contained more than 1,400 references spanning 70 pages. To make the book shorter and more affordable, I cut out most of these references; however, I will be happy to provide specific references on request.
A just world is possible. Human beings create society, and we can change it. The need for change is urgent. Everywhere, there is injustice, anguish, and anger. This book explains how society shapes people, how people shape society, and how powerlessness can be converted into the power to transform the world.
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