Beyond Rankism

Democracy for All

Rank has legitimate rights. When rank has been earned and signifies excellence, then it's generally accepted, and rightfully so. But the power of rank is often abused. The abuse of rank, or of power, is rankism. Treating others as invisible, as "nobodies", - insulting someone's dignity - that's rankism. Most of us have felt its sting; most have dished it out in some form. Overcoming rankism - in the family, the schools, and the workplace - is democracy's next step and the focus of this insightful dialogue between Robert Fuller and Michael Toms. "Not listening is probably the most fundamental basic and pervasive form of rankism, just tuning people out on the basis of some quick assumption about their worth, their social rank and doing the opposite, listening far too much to people who have a supposedly superior rank are celebrities, our personalities, our millionaires," says Fuller.©2001 New Dimensions Foundation (P)2008 New Dimensions Foundation