3 ms·
> We can also imagine an inner city black who has a choice between two value systems Far too many black families do no have the luxury to choose a new value sy
by pdkl95 9y ago
> We can also imagine an inner city black who has a choice between two value systems
Far too many black families do no have the luxury to choose a new value system. Extreme generational poverty is bad enough, but many are not allowed to even start on a path towards self improvement because 7.7% of adult black men are currently in prison. How, exactly, does "pro-family culture" improve social mobility for the 1-in-9 black children with a parent in prison.
> It may be that bourgeois values are hostage to other social, economic, and cultural factors.
Exactly - it wouldn't surprise me at all if the "benefits" attributed to marriage are actually a proxy for race.
[1] https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/wonk/wp/2016/02/26/america-has-locked-up-so-many-black-people-it-has-warped-our-sense-of-reality/ https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/wonk/wp/2016/02/26/ameri...
- leepowers 9y agoThis underscores an error that many conservative thinkers make - that "values are everything." I think values are an important part of achieving good outcomes, but values don't exist in isolation. The war on drugs criminalizes behavior that could be better treated through rehabilitation. Then it compounds this error by imposing large externalities, like felony records that make it impossible to find a job, excessive mandatory minimum sentences, etc. Values multiply positively with other factors. So it's not "bourgeois values" + "economic opportunity" == "success". It's more like "bourgeois values" * "economic opportunity" == success (multiplication instead of addition). When "economic opportunity" = 0 values will have no impact. This is an idea that a lot of us in the U.S. grapple with, that you can be virtuous but still end up with a bad outcome.