Includes bibliographical references (p. 159-173) and index.

A Disorder without a Name -- The Personal is Political -- Rankism--Mother of "Isms" -- Equal in Dignity -- The Myth of Meritocracy -- Democracy's Next Step -- Uses and Abuses of Rank -- Why Rank Matters -- Legitimate Uses of Rank -- Pulling Rank -- Three Vignettes -- Kicking the Dog -- Is Pulling Rank Human Nature? -- The Toll of Rank Abuse -- On Personal Relationships -- On Productivity -- The Intel Example -- On Learning -- On Leadership -- On Spirit -- The Hunger for Recognition -- "And you are...?" -- Recognition as Identity Food -- Recognition Disorders -- Somebodies and Nobodies--A Closer Look -- Up and Down the Status Ladder -- The Ins and Outs of Nobodyland -- The Parade of Invisibles -- The Somebody Mystique -- The Bricks and Mortar of Consensus -- Why We Put Up With Abuses of Power -- Nobody, Too -- The Genesis of the Somebody Mystique -- Deconstructing the Somebody Mystique -- The Function of Heroes -- The Inside Story -- About Genius -- About Celebrity -- About Fame -- About Success -- The Young Are Disenthralled -- The Quest for Dignity -- The DNA of Democracy -- Race, Gender, Age, ... Rank -- On Naming Rank-Based Discrimination -- Beyond Political Correctness -- A Dignitarian Movement -- King for a Day -- The Anatomy of Disrespect -- The Democratization of Authority -- Family: Kid to Person -- Health: Patient to Client -- Work: Employee to Partner -- The Enron Example -- Learning: Student to Learner -- A Better Game than War: Ciphers to Citizens -- National Security in the Twenty-First Century -- How to Win Respect and Safeguard Dignity -- The Nobody Revolution: Overcoming Rankism -- Nobodies' Liberation: A Joke or a Movement? -- The Nobody Manifesto -- The Invisibles Become Visible -- Humor, Etiquette, and Golden Rules -- Political Realignment -- Liberte, Dignite, Egalite, Fraternite -- Elegy for Nobodies -- Epitaph for Nobodies.

In this groundbreaking book, Robert Fuller takes the analysis of discrimination beyond racism and sexism to reveal a form of injustice that everyone knows, but no one sees: discrimination based on rank, or "rankism." Low rank -- signifying weakness, vulnerability, and the absence of power -- marks people for abuse in much the same way that race, religion, gender, and sexual orientation have long done. Somebodies and Nobodies explains our reluctance to confront this phenomenon, and argues that abuse based on power differences is no more defensible than that based on differences in color or gender. It unmasks rankism, demonstrating its pervasiveness and corrosiveness in our personal lives, social institutions, and international relations. Illuminating the subtle, often dysfunctional workings of power in all our interactions -- whether on the individual, societal, or global level -- it presents rankism as the last obstacle to equal opportunity, brings into focus a "dignitarian" revolution that is already taking shape, and offers a preview of a post-rankist world.