Somebodies and Nobodies: Overcoming the Abuse of Rank

by Robert W. Fuller

Book Overview

What corporate corruption, sexual abuse by clergy, and schoolyard bullying all have in common

In the on-going attempts to overcome racism and sexism in North America today, we are overlooking another kind of discrimination that is no less damaging and equally unjustifiable. It is a form of injustice that everyone knows, but no one sees: discrimination based on rank. Low rank-signifying weakness, vulnerability, and the absence of...

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0865714878
• ISBN13: 9780865714878
• Release Date: April 2004
• Publisher: New Society Publishers
• Length: 232 Pages
• Weight: 0.80 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.6" x 6.0" x 9.0"

Customer Reviews

Rank and Servant-leadership

The purpose for writing this book, the author told us in a foreword, "is to break the taboo on the subject of rank, and reexamine the prerogatives that accompany status in relations between individuals, groups, and nations" because "many of the difficulties we face in personal relationships, schools, and the workplace stem from the misuse of power associated with rank" (p. xix). Bertrand Russell "called power the fundamental concept in social science, `in the same sense in which Energy is a fundamental concept in physics'" (Burns, 1978). Fuller's book is important to scholars of servant-leadership because it concerns itself directly with the living, breathing subjects at the wrong end of society's power equations, the ones whom Greenleaf asked after in his "best test": "And [italics original], what is the effect on the least privileged in society? Will they benefit or at least not be further deprived?" (1977, p. 27). Fuller's thesis is a sprawling one that cuts across many disciplines and related works. In annotating the text, I wrote "cf." everywhere in the margins: cf. Maslow; cf. Eric Berne; cf. Kierkegaard; cf. Nel Noddings; cf. Mill; etc. The book is treasure trove of insights, reflections, inspiring quotations, and, above all, a call for a social morality that recognizes the innate dignity and worth of every human being in every situation and at every moment. Members of our present society objectify themselves and others by becoming, or valuing others, as either a "somebody" or a "nobody." In either case, the person is objectified and ceases to be real in a relational way. Fuller wrote that "attachment to somebody status is ultimately as futile and self-defeating as resignation to permanent nobody status. Somebodies who can't get down off their pedestals turn into stautes" (p. 41). On the other hand, for so-called nobodies "rankism takes a wide variety of forms, including maltreatment, discrimination, disrespect, discourtesy, disdain, derision, and condescension" (p. 98). Fuller's great contribution to the servant-leadership literature is his insistence that that voice of the "nobody" should be heard when the "somebody" is making a decision.

Awakening Brilliance without the syrup.

It is interesting to see how overlooked this subject has been. We all have been on one side or the other of this issue, what is amazing is that the media and general public continue the "somebody" worship so rabidly. When we do that we only encourage the continuation of there being nobodies. Dignity should not be given out based on your income, addresss orany other temporary situation. It really is that simple. All you have to do is to look to 3rd world countries who are used as pawns by every other "somebody" nation. The US is not the only one guilty of this,but we get the lion's share of blame. The topic of rankism in education is touched upon in Awakening Brilliance, but though a great premise, it has a bit too much Pollyanna in it to be as effective as Fuller's book. This book should be on every coffee table, no matter how expensive or simple, around the world.

Dignity is non-negotiable

I bought Somebodies and Nobodies in addition to Collins' Good to Great and am deeply grateful that i found both these books at the same time. Collins showed how "great" companies eliminate rankism from the work environment, but Fuller's book gives even more context and breadth to this issue. This book clearly and powerfully puts into words an underlying issue that takes great courage to expose--that discrimination based on rank is no more justified than descrimination based on race or gender.Throughout this book Fuller shows that he aims to protect others' dignity as he would his own. Many thanks to both these authors for their contributions to my personal and professional life!

Seeing through the social fog

This is the book that I'm giving my friends for Christmas. I can't recommend it highly enough! It has sharpened my vision when I look at the everyday life around me, and how I cope with my family's attempts at manipulation and how I evaluate what I read in history, or in the newspaper or what I see on TV. Even after all the work that we might have done in changing our attitudes about racism, sexism and any other ism we've known about, there's still been a lurking discomfort that we might not have been able to put our fingers on. This is what Robert Fuller calls "rankism." Once you read this book, you'll see how rankism infects every aspect of our lives. The signals can be very subtle, as in the old hooks that snare us when we turn into children in the presence of our parents. But now this author has articulated what we might not have been able to and given us ways to cope with things that we may have had only a felt sense about. Until a few weeks ago, I enjoyed watching "The West Wing" on TV. The writing is so smart, so snappy, the actors were who I wish were running the country. Then last night C. J. Craig condescended to a new employee, telling him how little she thought of him as he was about 17 steps below her in rank. I felt a little stab of pain, as some of the pleasure was removed from the one show I looked forward to seeing. Another interesting take on how rankism affects us all concerns the way certain U.S. Indian tribes are flipping the status they've had to endure for several centuries. With the advent of casinos and money, tribes are now standing up and saying, "We're still here. We count. We have clout. You can't ignore us or roll over us anymore." How they express this new power is a mirror image of the ways they were treated, and it's greatly unsettling to many politicians, townspeople near them, and casino visitors. I'd like to take issue with one point in the editorial review which said, "...the book falls short of providing enough concrete steps on how to fight this abuse, including only two brief chapters."Think about it: was there any one book that told us during the civil rights era what racism was and how to combat it, any one book with neat social recipes that required no more suggestions, training, or thought? What was needed then is exactly what is needed now--- many people thinking about how rankism robs us of our dignity and often wealth and health and our very lives. And each of us will confront differing situations which will require creativity and courage and hard thought. This is the book that begins to hone our awareness. Many more books will have to be written about how people confronted and defused or resolved the problems that this mindset engenders.This book is a well-written opening statement. Maybe he'll write another one that contains the many stories of what people saw after they were aware of rankism and what they did about it. We can only hope so.

A Dignitarian Movement

Somebodies and Nobodies is about rank abuse in the workplace, in families, in education, in health care, and in foreign policy and the roots of terrorism. A professor appropriates the research of a junior assistant. A doctor demeans a nurse. Wives are beaten physically and/or emotionally. Children are abused and bullied at home and on the playground . Enron and the priest scandals in the Catholic church come to light. It is going to take a new movement to stop the somebodies, individuals, groups, and nations, from overstepping their power and privilege and treating others badly. To the nobodies of the world (the poor and dispossessed, patients struggling for a true bill of rights, students fighting to have more control over THEIR education, the elderly seeking more dignity, and even terrorists) Fuller offers what all nascent movements need--a name for the problem. Rankism is such a name. It allows lots of disparate individuals and groups to realize their commonality, and it identifies a level of behavior that is not only unacceptable, but, like racism or sexism, is ultimately not viable either financially or socially. Rankism is abuse of all forms of power--physical, mental, social, spiritual. It pervades our society like the air we breathe. The dignitarian movement is the way to remove the veil from such behavior, empower the nobodies (all of us at one time or another), and operationalize the golden rule.