Although I first developed my concept of Surplus Powerlessness in the
1980s to explain my own experiences in the social change movements of
the 1960s， it seems even more relevant to daily life experience and
politics in the 1990s. My work as a psychotherapist in the 1970s and
1980s， my experiences in founding and then editing Tikkun magazine，
my work as a consultant to the Israeli peace movement and to progres-
sive social change forces in Eastern Europe， have all strengthened my
first impressions that Surplus Powerlessness is the central social and
psychological reality that stands between us and the fullest realization of
our hopes for a humane and decent world and for deeply fulfilling
personal lives.
It has become chic to deny the possibility of human emancipation
from the tyranny of selfishness and self-destructiveness that have char-
acterized human societies through much of human history. \"Sure，\" it is
argued， \"there have been some advances in overcoming slavery and
feudal societies. Yet all that has really changed has been the form of class
rule. We remain in a world that is characterized by the domination of the
few over the many. Democratic institutions are cleverly manipulated by
ruling elites so that people end up participating in their own enslave-
ment. And to the extent that they do participate， people choose paths
that are just as foolish and self-destructive as ever. The problem with
you progressives is that you do not give adequate attention to the tragic
dimension of human reality， the inevitability of evil and irrationality，
which will always dominate human life. The best we intellectuals can do
is chart those irrationalities with irony and humor. But once we attempt
to change things， we are likely to participate in shaping a new gulag，
just as intellectuals have done throughout human history.\"
There is some truth in this objection， and much despair and cynicism.
It is certainly true that many people do participate today in their own
self-enslavement， and that irrational dynamics continue to dominate our
political and personal lives in the 1990s. For those who were temporarily
enthralled by the revolutionary optimism of the 1960s and mistakenly
bought the notion that a total transformation was imminent， everything
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