The political production of human inferiority: A personal tale and a human condition

Abstract

In what context does one come to hate their own culture, their own being, and even their own parents because they are told and taught at a young age that their parents' lifestyle and their home community are shockingly backward? Throughout my years in school, as the son of Tibetan nomadic herders, externally imposed narratives of inferiority led me to see my home community as a wasteland of nonachievements, driving me to distance myself from it as far as possible. This autobiographical article reflects on my personal experiences of internalizing those narratives and explores how my encounter with cultural relativism in high school provided a powerful remedy for a mind overwhelmed by what I refer to as the political production of human inferiority. In doing so, the article argues how the human propensity to construct narratives of inferiority is a key element in sustaining systems of domination and exploitation. It draws insights from scholars who examine how oppressive systems foster a sense of internalized dispossession within people's consciousness by creating inferior Others. The article emphasizes the importance of crafting narrative remedies that empower and elevate the dignity and vibrancy of cultures, literatures, and lifestyles that have been consistently devalued.