Naming the Systems That Hold Us Back
Why dismantling capitalism, patriarchy, and white supremacy is everyone’s business
Every workplace, every community, every moment of care or collaboration exists within systems that shape us all. Today, we’re talking about a few of these systems - late-stage capitalism, patriarchal domination, and white supremacy, not as abstract theories, but as powerful forces that influence how we live, work, and care for each other.
Whether you’re a formal leader or seeking change in your home or community, it’s important to understand these systems, how they affect people, and how we can resist them while caring for ourselves.
In other words, these systems suck for everyone except for a few people at the top, and we should be doing what we can to topple them, while also taking care of ourselves.
Breaking Down the Systems
Let’s break them down briefly BUT don’t forget - these are intersecting oppressions that support each other. We won’t be able to address patriarchy without understanding how capitalism and white supremacy play into it, for example.
Late-Stage Capitalism
Capitalism isn’t just an economic system, it’s a social order that impacts nearly every aspect of our lives. Karl Marx described it as a system built on exploiting labor: workers are paid less than the value of what they produce, and that gap (surplus value) becomes profit. This relentless drive for profit treats people like cogs in a machine and puts a price tag on basic human needs, like food, water, and shelter.
Silvia Federici, in Caliban and the Witch, expands upon Marx’s discussion of workers to highlight how capitalism’s rise was rooted in domination of women’s bodies, the horrors of the transatlantic slave trade, the mass slaughter of Indigenous peoples, and the plunder of natural resources. (Whenever people talk about how many people died under communism, they always seem to forget about the body count that capitalism has incurred.)
Today, the wealth gap continues to widen, with the top 1% holding 32% of all wealth in the U.S. Billionaires don’t just hoard wealth, they are able to use this wealth to exert more influence on democracy, ensuring the rules of the system continue to benefit them at the expense of everyone else.
And this is when it becomes clear that there’s no amount of tweaking or adjusting by our political system that can “fix” capitalism. True sustainability and equality demands moving beyond an economic system that thrives on exploitation of people and the planet.
Patriarchal Domination
Patriarchy is a social system that prioritizes the lives and experiences of men over the lives and experiences of women. It’s why women are paid less, why care work is dismissed as unimportant, and why vulnerability in leadership is seen as a liability instead of a superpower.
For centuries, patriarchal beliefs were explicit, openly declaring that men were inherently superior to women. Laws existed to uphold this hierarchy, barring women from voting, owning property, or making decisions without male approval.
Today, operates more subtly, there are very few people today walking around going, “Oh yeah, men are definitely smarter and better than women.” (Although it seems like there are more and more corners of the internet promoting exactly this sentiment.) But the reality is, this belief system that has perpetuated over thousands of years HAS unequally distributed more power to men than women, resulting in pay gaps, undervalued caregiving, and leadership stereotypes that punish women for being “too nice” or “too bossy.”
AND patriarchy isn’t just bad for women. Sure, it puts men in more powerful positions, but it also harms them by forcing them into narrow roles: they must be strong, stoic providers whose value is tied to dominance, physical prowess, and sexual conquest. The result? A male mental health crisis and violence: men are four times more likely than women to die by suicide and they make up 98% of mass shooters. Patriarchy’s rules hurt EVERYONE.
White Supremacy
White supremacy isn’t just hate groups or racist slurs, it’s the system that centers white people’s customs, beliefs, and culture as the standard known as whiteness.
The racial hierarchy of whiteness didn’t emerge naturally, it was constructed. Resmaa Menakem, in his book My Grandmother’s Hands, explains that whiteness was born out of a deliberate effort during colonialism and the slave trade to grant Europeans privileges while justifying the exploitation of Black, Indigenous, and other marginalized peoples. This didn’t just dehumanize those at the bottom; it conditioned white people to view themselves as superior, embedding this belief into the fabric of laws, culture, and institutions.
Today, whiteness manifests in systemic racism across criminal justice, education, housing, and employment. Iit’s why Black and Brown communities are disproportionately targeted by the criminal justice system. It’s why schools in predominantly white neighborhoods receive more funding than those in communities of color. It’s why white people hold the vast majority of leadership roles across industries, despite decades of supposed progress on diversity.
Whiteness rewards those who conform to its norms and punishes those who don’t. Practices like “culture fit” hiring and the myth of colorblindness perpetuate inequities. Ignoring race doesn’t dismantle racism; it reinforces the status quo by pretending the playing field is level when it’s anything but.
The Risk of Ignoring Systems
Without recognition of these systems, leaders risk reinforcing harmful narratives:
Telling a mother of two that her inability to “lean in” at work is a personal failing, rather than acknowledging the lack of affordable childcare and workplace flexibility.
Criticizing a Black employee for not being “assertive enough” in meetings, ignoring the additional scrutiny and stereotypes they face when they do speak up.
Encouraging a queer team member to “just be yourself” in a workplace culture that subtly punishes nonconformity.
Framing an Indigenous community’s high unemployment rates as a lack of effort, while ignoring the systemic underfunding and exploitation of their lands.
To support your people, you must understand not just who they are, but the systemic pressures shaping their lives. Ignoring these systems can unintentionally shift the blame to individuals. Marginalized people are told to adapt to systems never designed for them. True leadership means understanding the external pressures and advocating for systemic change.
Zooming Out and Moving Forward
Understanding how the systems shape us isn’t a rejection of individual growth and responsibility. As a coach I work with people daily on navigating life within these systems. But this is a call to zoom out. To see the bigger picture. To name the systems at play and understand their stakes. It’s about recognizing that the challenges we face often aren’t isolated incidents or personal failings, they are the results of systems that were put into place long before we arrived.