Syria. What is going on in Syria? President Assad’s power base is in the Alawite religious community. Syria has a population of 21 million his powerbase is represented by 16% of the population. The Sunni Muslim Freedom Fighters movement is 74% of the population.

The richest 10% of adults account for 85% of the world’s wealth. The bottom half of the world adult population owning 1% of global wealth. In the UK the top 10% own 50% of the wealth. These figures are arguable but all point to a pyramid structure. Narrow at the top and wider at the bottom.
Much is made of this in terms of democracy and freedom being able to counter this unfairness. These figures  bear this out. The more democratic the country the fairer the disparity between rich and poor and those who have power and those who do not.

The pyramid structure also applies to Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs.

At the top of the pyramid is morality, creativity, spontaneity, & lack of prejudice. Most would agree a basis for a civilised community. At the bottom of the pyramid are the basic body functions. The necessary shelter, food and water. In the mental health profession it is widely recognised that people can only think about how they live, until they have the provisions for living. Without these basics thinking about how you want to live is meaningless. Too much time and energy is spent on survival.
In the 21^st Century more of us have taken care of the basics than ever before so more of us can think about how to live. But his can be deceptive. On a global scale and to varying degrees in countries depending on the region, this is not true. Many people are struggling to make a subsistence living at the bottom of the pyramid.
Perhaps this is how humans are: hierarchical. There always has to be a pyramid structure. To not be equal is the norm and natural. To apply equality and fairness to humans is what is says: an application – a theory, a hope or a wish. Even in the 21^st Century Democracy, and fairness is a sticking plaster trying to cover up the natural bias of humans illustrated by the financial crash ion 2008. To live in a pyramid of winners and losers.
Meanwhile the bloodshed in Syria goes on.

Copyright Adrian Scott North London Counsellor Blog 2013
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Disclaimer: This weblog is the view of the writer and for general information only.
This article is designed to provoke argument and critique.