Five Faces of Oppression

 The world is currently being controlled by the wealthiest countries all over the world. This therefore makes such countries to be able to exercise total power over other countries, particularly the developing countries (Ross, 2012). It is evident that developing countries are powerless, in the sense that they cannot be able to speak even when being exploited by developed countries. For instance, when a developing country is hit by civil wars, developed countries come in the name of providing support, and choose a leader of their own who is supposed to lead the country. This therefore deprives the citizens of the given country, a chance to be able to exercise their democratic right of electing a leader (Carlson, 2010).

A good example is Libya, the country experienced civil wars, which were caused by the NATO forces, which financed government rebels in order to overthrow the government. The government was successfully overthrown, after the US and British forces gave the rebels military support in taking over the country (Ross, 2012).  After the war, the former president of Libya, Muammar Gadhafi was killed by the rebels, and the US went forward to install a leader of their own choice as the president of the country. The citizens of Libya could not be able to do anything since they had no capacity to challenge the US decision to appoint a leader to rule the country. The developed countries therefore decided to exploit the country through buying oil at a very cheap price, while offering the country very huge loans, which would be paid at very high interests. The country has since not been able to have a stabilized economy as it still depends on developed countries for funds (Carlson, 2010).

The above event clearly depicts oppression, in the sense that the citizens of Libya have been really oppressed, to the point of not being allowed to exercise their democratic rights. In addition, the developing countries have really exploited the country’s main resource which is oil, thus making it hard for the country to be able to fully cater for its needs, through the export of oil. On the other hand, the chosen president, is used as a puppet, whereby he cannot be able to do anything against the will of the US government (Carlson, 2010). He therefore signs treaties without consulting anyone guaranteed the US government decides to do so. This has consequently made the country to be in a very bad economic state, since it cannot be able to offer proper education and health services to its citizens.

Violence has also been depict in the above scenario, since the people of Libya are very afraid of raising their voices, due to the fear of violence. Libyan citizens went through a lot during the civil wars, a thing which made them to be afraid of violence. The fear of violence has therefore them to seem inferior since they cannot be able to complain about the decisions that the country’s government is making (Carlson, 2010).  This effect has therefore seen leaders ruling the country in such a way that they are only concerned with what they are being told by the mighty, which are the wealthiest nations. The country’s transport and infrastructure system are at a very bad state, and the citizens cannot be able to do anything because of the fear instilled in them, by the wealthiest countries after they financed rebel actions during the civil wars in the country.

Marginalization is however less evident in the above example, since nobody in the society has been marginalized (Ross, 2012).  The country has continued operating as it used to be in the past, and the only differences are the changes in the government leadership and sectors. All citizens are being treated equally, despite the country facing very many economic problems, no groups of people have reported being marginalized. Marginalization of different groups of people seems to be the list thing in the country, since the leaders are only concerned with the affairs of the wealthiest countries. Hence marginalization has not been a key issue in the country (Carlson, 2010).

Culture of imperialism is also not applicable in the above scenario, since the country is being ruled by African leaders, using their own systems of governance. It is only that the government leaders are usually used and controlled by their financiers, hence they should do according to the dictates of their financiers (Carlson, 2010). The Libyan government has since independence continued with its ways form of ruling, without following or otherwise copying the way other countries operate (Carlson, 2010).

Young’s theory helps me to understand the example, since it provides clear definition of each form of oppression. This has consequently made it easier for me to be able to understand the different forms of oppression, hence being able to clearly explain the way people are being oppressed (Ross, 2012). On the other hand, this theory makes me to have many questions at the back of my mind, and this questions include: Why should the majority oppress the minorities? Why should there be oppression if we are all equal?

Reference

Carlson, L. (2010). The faces of intellectual disability: Philosophical reflections. Bloomington: Indiana University Press.

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Ross, E. W. (2012). The social studies curriculum: Purposes, problems, and possibilities. Albany: State University of New York Press.

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