Hierarchies of Actualization

The concept of transforming power over to power with, the theme of this issue of Creative Nursing, comes from Riane Eisler's cultural transformation theory describing a continuum of domination and partnership along which cultures orient themselves. Hierarchies are important organizing principles in many systems; it is not their presence that is inhumane, but how they function. Domination systems display authoritarian rule in both the family and the state or tribe, with strict hierarchies of domination, and narratives that normalize domination and present the violence that maintains it as inevitable. Partnership systems are characterized by egalitarian structures in both the family and state or tribe, with hierarchies of actualization in which power is used to empower others rather than disempower, low levels of sanctioned violence (since it is not needed to maintain power), and narratives depicting mutual respect, accountability, and benefit as natural. All the articles in this issue of Creative Nursing depict empowerment: of patients, parents and other family members, foster parents, children from preschool age to near adulthood, providers of direct patient care at many levels in many areas, nurses seeking to publish their knowledge, and all people who seek to use language that demonstrates respect and value for all people while acknowledging the diverse cultures in which we abide.