SG Café | Eat the Rich

In modern civilization, power and privilege still separate the haves from the have nots. As the gap between the top 1% and the rest widens, we must ask ourselves: what are the mechanisms behind wealth inequality? And why do we tolerate the excesses? As Jean-Jacques Rousseau’s call to “eat the rich” gains traction in Western society, perhaps it is time to imagine a different society. How could we use imagination to do so?  

The Unheard Stories of Power

Our world is a complex web of power dynamics in which the divide between the haves and the have nots appears to grow ever wider. The stories we tell play an undeniable role in creating and maintaining these power structures. Those with power and privilege write our past and determine our future. They can claim space and treat everything in it as mere objects which exist to serve them, a story as old as our colonial history in which too few voices are heard. Those who are denied or lack language are easily appropriated.  

Would we treat the world around us differently if it could tell us how it suffers? Can we reassess the way property and space are shared in our society and imagine different ways of sharing the planet? How can we change the story of our world and include the narratives of the non-human, the non-Western, the queer and nonconventional? Can we create a new language for our future? 

In this series by Studium Generale, we will explore the unheard stories behind today’s most pressing issues. We will invite artists, philosophers, and other creatives as we look for new narratives and fresh perspectives. 

Organised by: Studium Generale