The idea of mutual recognition is pretty much a dream if we’re being honest. Can anyone actually imagine a world where we avoid conflict and there’s no fighting for power? Because I definitely can’t. Jessica Benjamin’s ideas are incredible. They are truly valuable ideas that would help our society immensely. Everyone would be happier and there would be a focus on truly learning about people and taking them for who they are and what they stand for. But could that ever happen? Our society is centered around power and the dynamics of war, fighting, and conflict when we should be focusing on things like mutual recognition. Thinking about this reminded me of a practice AP test last year about the business of war and violence. The backbone of the United States is conflict, and while it would be nice to move away from conflict, I don’t see it happening. The ideas Jessica Benjamin conveys are awesome, but for change to occur they have to taken in small doses. Moving towards a less conflict focused society will take a long time, but could ultimately contribute to making the world a happier place.
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I agree with the idea that our society is incapable of functioning without some sort of hierarchy. While trying to reflect on my friendships it is hard to think of a situation where mutual recognition is present.
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I also do not believe mutual recognition is an attainable goal. For mutual recognition to occur these people in places of power would need to willingly cooperate and distribute the lopsided power they hold. The fact of the matter is since power is the desire of most those who hold this power will not be willing to cooperate in the act of equal distribution. They have such an advantage due to the power they weild that they will not allow themselves to return to square one. The greed of humans is the reason why mutual recognition cannot occur and communism or socialism never fully work the way they are theorized to do so.
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In a world were people are not fighting for who is in power, would be a world of stalemate. Every world no matter the views of it evolves and changes over time. As the younger generation grows old things will have changed from the previous generation. Some things will probably be good change will others not so much. Change often times results in conflict. A world without change would be a world without pride and enjoyment.
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While I agree that in some circumstances mutual recognition is ideal and would improve our society, I also think that in some cases, power dynamics are effective and useful. There are many binaries that we choose to participate in- like tutor/student for example- that make the goal more effective. In that particular example, most of the time a student seeks out a tutor and asks to be put into that power dynamic because that is the way they think is most effective for them to achieve their goal- learning. Many people need authority as a motivating factor, and the way I see it, there is no real authority if there is mutual recognition. I think that the elimination of power struggles is a good idea in many cases, but that doesn’t make binaries not useful. I also see capitalism as a power struggle- we are motivated by competition. Our society could not function without it. Lots to think about.
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