Blog - 4/9/07 - Partnership Model vs. Dominator Model
There are two basic configurations for structuring our relations with one another and our natural environment.
The core elements of the first of these configurations are an authoritarian top-down social and family structure, rigid male-dominance, a high level of fear and built-in violence and abuse (from child and wife beating to chronic warfare), and a system of beliefs, stories and values that make this kind of structure seem normal and right. Since rankings of domination—man over woman, race over race, religion over religion, nation over nation, man over nature—define this way of structuring relations, this configuration is called the dominator model.
At the other end of the spectrum are societies orienting to a very different configuration. The core elements of the second of these configurations are a more democratic and egalitarian family and social structure, gender equity, a low level of institutionalized violence and abuse (as there is no need for fear and force to maintain rigid rankings of domination), and a system of beliefs, stories, and values that supports and validates this kind of structure as normal and right. This template for structuring relations is called the partnership model.
It has been said that power over others is weakness disguised as strength. I don't think it's as easy as deciding one day that you are going to structure your relations with others utilizing the partnership model and avoiding the dominator model. I think you have to strike a balance between the two that attempts to maximize the degree of partnership model utilized while minimizing the degree of dominator model utilized.