A Short History of Power

'I thought I had a pretty good sense of how colonialism shapes modern society, but Dr Davy has shown me that understanding these things is a lifetime's work. In the absence of time to read everything, you could not ask for a more eloquent guide than this book. Essential' - Sathnam SangheraAn eye-opening book about how societies are designed to support the status of those in power at the destructive expense of those without it. Read it and take responsibility. ECOLOGICAL OPPRESSION In 1958, China declared war on sparrows, destroying its own crops and contributing to the deaths of more than 10 million people.ECONOMIC OPPRESSION In the nineteenth century, the Shuar people of Ecuador were driven by economic necessity to procure shrunken heads for the Western curio market. The bloody wars that ensued nearly destroyed their society.EDUCATIONAL OPPRESSION There have been fifty-five prime ministers of Great Britain, of whom forty-eight have been privately educated, creating a society built by and for the privileged. These are just some of the stories in this remarkable book that illustrate the key factors that allow societies to create and sustain oppressive systems. Some are historical. Others have played out right before our eyes over the last decade. All are rooted in the systems in which we all participate. Together they represent the layers of systematic, often insidious oppression that make up the world today.