I have been very caught up in the news story of Ashya King and the bizarre antics of the institutions involved. The psychological, the humane and the compassionate had apparently gone right out of the window and the overly masculine aspects of the law and sticking to set principles no matter what has held sway. Today in discussion with a Jungian we talked about Jung’s thinking about this primitive masculinity where the feminine is derided and all signs of weakness are seen as feminine and so are brushed away. It is then an entirely defensive stance and reflects the tradition of patriarchy. Feminine qualities which of course belong to both sexes are seen as less valuable, probably because they are not associated with competition, achievement and so with money making.

For in many ways materialism is part of this same primitive masculinity in the sense that things of the spirit  are seen as non scientific, non verifiable and somehow soft. The world seems caught at present in the grip of this…. it has been now for centuries and it is this ideology that is so powerful and it is this ideology that leads to destruction. However individually people are not like this and care hugely, offering compassion and care. We know that things are unbalanced it is finding how to make changes that matters. And of course as Jung thought one has to begin with oneself.