The Unseen Powers: Unraveling the Web of Domination, Exploitation, and Ecological Collapse

In every corner of the world, there is an invisible thread, a power that shapes everything we experience: from the way we work, to the food we eat, the air we breathe, and the soil beneath our feet. This power is not just an abstract concept, nor is it located in some far-off "ivory tower" or inaccessible realm of "the elite." It is the very structure of society, woven into the fabric of our lives, our politics, our economy, and — crucially — our environment. Yet, most of us are taught not to see it. We’re taught that the status quo is the natural order of things, as if the inequality and environmental degradation around us were inevitable, preordained, but they are not.

Power is not some mystical force that resides in the hands of the few — it’s a system, a construct that permeates every interaction, decision, and institution in society. It’s a structure that divides, exploits, and extracts, and it's killing the planet.

Power in Society: The Illusion of Equality

When we talk about power, we often think of it in terms of individuals. We think of CEOs, politicians, or celebrities. But power isn’t just about individuals — it’s about systems. Systems that are designed to perpetuate inequality, to benefit the few, and to keep the masses in check. We often hear about "power dynamics," but rarely do we dig into how those dynamics are designed to function and who designs them.

In every society, there is a dominant group that dictates the rules — and it’s rarely the people who work the hardest or live the most humbly. The elite are the ones who own the land, control the resources, and shape the ideologies that govern how we live. Power manifests in laws that protect their interests and in the structures that ensure they stay at the top. Capitalism, for example, is an economic system that concentrates power and wealth in the hands of the few. Under capitalism, people are reduced to commodities — workers are not valued for their humanity, but for their productivity. We sell our labour, our time, our lives, for wages that rarely reflect the value we provide. We live in a world where billionaires grow wealthier while entire communities are left to rot. The power that keeps them at the top is not just about money, but about the way society is structured to keep everyone else in a state of dependency and submission.

The question is: who benefits from these systems? Certainly not the workers, the most marginalised, or the natural world. The systems of capitalism and colonialism are designed to exploit both people and planet for the benefit of the few. Power is concentrated in the hands of those who own the land, the resources, and the means of production. These people and institutions are the ones who make the decisions about who gets to eat, who gets to live, and who gets to speak. And it’s the same group of people who stand to lose the least in the face of environmental destruction. They are the ones who can afford to fly to private islands while the rest of us breathe in toxic air and drown in rising seas.

Capitalism and Colonialism: Pillars of Exploitation and Environmental Harm

Let’s be clear: capitalism is not a benign economic system. It is an inherently extractive system, built on the notion that the earth and its resources exist to serve human interests. And with those resources, one can amass capital, to gain more capital, in the relentless search for infinite growth, on a finite planet. What’s worse, it was built on the back of colonialism — a brutal and exploitative practice that took from Indigenous peoples; their land, their cultures, and their resources. Capitalism and colonialism are intertwined; they share a common goal: to extract value from the land, the people, and the natural world without regard for sustainability, equity, or respect. 

Colonialism, at its core, was the expansion of empire, justified by the need to "civilise" indigenous populations and take control of their resources. The colonisers saw the earth as something to be owned, tamed, and used for profit. In this worldview, the land itself is nothing more than a commodity — a resource to be extracted, a space to be dominated. This ideology didn’t die when colonial empires fell. It lives on in the global capitalist system that continues to exploit the Global South, extracting resources from the land without regard for the people who live there or the ecosystems they depend on. This is a growing concern in the renewable energy transition, are we simply turning the Global South into a sacrifice zone in the name of 'Green Capitalism'?

The effects of colonialism and capitalism are felt most acutely in the Global South, where communities are displaced to make way for mining, logging, and industrial agriculture. Entire ecosystems are destroyed, rivers are poisoned, and people are forced into precarious labour to feed the insatiable demands of the global market. The land and its people are treated as expendable — just as they were during the colonial era. In fact, the current environmental crises we face — from deforestation to biodiversity loss, from climate change to soil degradation — are the direct result of centuries of capitalist exploitation and colonial violence.

Systems Thinking: Connecting the Dots Between Society, Politics, and Ecology

To understand how these systems of power work, we need to start thinking in systems. The world isn’t just a collection of isolated events and issues. Everything is interconnected — social systems, political systems, and ecological systems. What happens in one area inevitably impacts the others. Climate change, for example, is not just an environmental issue; it’s a social issue, a political issue, and an economic issue. The same can be said about biodiversity loss, the erosion of democratic rights, and the growing wealth divide.

When we begin to think systemically, we see that these issues are not isolated problems, but symptoms of a deeper malaise. They are symptoms of a society that values profit over people, growth over sustainability, and exploitation over harmony. Climate change isn’t just the result of excessive carbon emissions — it’s the result of an economic system that prioritises short-term profits over long-term ecological health. It’s the result of an industrial system that operates on the principle of infinite growth in a finite world.

To understand the full impact of these systems, we need to view them through an ecological lens. This is where systems thinking becomes essential. Ecological systems are complex, interconnected webs of life, where everything from the tiniest bacteria to the largest predator plays a role. The health of the entire system depends on the balance between these elements. Disrupt one part of the system, and the entire system can begin to shift, potentially towards collapse.

In the same way, human systems (social, political, economic) are also interconnected. When we exploit the land, we destabilise the entire ecosystem. When we exploit people, we create social and political instability. When we fail to act on climate change, we worsen inequality. These aren’t separate problems — they are all part of the same systemic failure.

The Relationship Between Human Systems and the Natural World

The idea that human systems and the natural world are separate is a myth, one that has been perpetuated for centuries. In reality, we are inextricably linked to the land, the air, the water, and all living things. The idea that humans can dominate nature and bend it to our will is an illusion. Nature is not separate from us; we are a part of it. Every breath we take, every meal we eat, every product we consume is directly connected to the natural world.

But over time, we’ve built systems that treat nature as something to be used, owned, and exploited. This mindset is at the heart of capitalism and colonialism. It’s this mentality that tells us it’s okay to clear-cut forests, pollute rivers, and mine the Earth’s resources for profit. It’s this mindset that tells us we can endlessly extract from the Earth without any consequences. And it’s this mindset that has led to the destruction of entire ecosystems, the poisoning of the planet, and the loss of countless species.

We are not separate from the natural world, we are a part of it, and what happens to the planet happens to us. Our health, our food, our water, our air — all of these are interconnected with the health of the planet. When the Earth suffers, we suffer. And when we continue to exploit the Earth for profit, we are laying the foundation for our own demise.

Power is not something that happens "out there" in the distant halls of government or corporate boardrooms. It’s woven into the fabric of our everyday lives, our social structures, and our relationship with the natural world. Capitalism, colonialism, and the systems of power that uphold them are responsible for the exploitation of people and the planet alike. These systems are not natural; they are human-made, and they can be unmade.

To fight for a better world, we must recognise that everything is connected. We must break down the false walls between social, political, and ecological systems. We must understand that when we fight for social justice, we are fighting for the planet. And when we fight for the planet, we are fighting for each other.

The time for incremental change is over. The systems we’ve inherited are broken, and the world is on fire. It’s time to dismantle the structures of power that keep us trapped in a cycle of exploitation and destruction. It’s time to build something new — something rooted in justice, equality, and ecological balance. Only then can we begin to heal the world and ourselves.