THE CULTURAL PRODUCTION OF EVIL

Simbarashe Sigauke

EMILIE M. TOWNES WOMANIST ETHICS AND THE CULTURAL PRODUCTION OF EVIL

Emilie M. Townes asserts “hegemony is the set of ideas that dominant groups employ in a society to secure the consent of subordinates to abide by their rule. The notion consent is key, because hegemony is created through coercion that is gained by using the church, family, media, political parties, schools, unions, and other voluntary associations – the civil society and all its organizations.” This infests a kind of false awareness of the sensational in neocultural and sociopolitical drag that perpetuates societal values and moralities such that there is one consistent, logical and accurate viewpoint on the world. Hegemonies exist throughout history and within our society. Conservatism, liberalism, Christianity, Judaism, Islam, Hinduism, Buddhism and so forth can be seen as hegemonic in particular societies. The supremacy of a social group manifests in two ways, as “domination” and as “intellectual and moral leadership”. It is a belief or promotion of the belief that once social group is superior to another and manifests in the so called superior dominating the so called inferior socially, politically, economically and historically. One social group dominates antagonistic groups, which it tends to suppress, oppress or to subjugate perhaps even by armed force. One social group will perpetually lead whilst another will perpetually follow. White privilege is a term for societal privileges that benefit white people beyond what is commonly experienced by non-white people under the same social, political, or economic circumstances. These privileges are unearned and are distributed based on values of the dominant group.

Townes attacks the cultural production of evil. Recognizes the systemic evil that is institutionalized. I think that the present human condition is as a result of the fall. Man was created good but fell due to sin and opened the door for evil to enter into humanity. The reality is that we live in a world made up of human institutions and humans have grave weaknesses and frailties. Man created some of the systems in the world and hence they cannot produce perfect solutions. Human beings operate with flawed race, class, power and national presuppositions. As humans we need courage in the face of injustice, truth in the face of lies and hope in the face of despair. We can change who controls history. People who are oppressed can use counter memory to rebut the official historical narrative. I believe that changing the dominant fantastic hegemonic imaginations can reduce evil. The images of subjugation, oppression, lynching, the Black Matriarch and Welfare Queen can be replaced with images of freedom, liberty, brotherhood, the cross and equality. I think the imagination is very powerful and can be used for liberation purposes. Proverbs 23:7 says that, “As a man thinketh in his heart so is he.”Romans 12:2 says, “….Be yea transformed through the renewal of the mind.”