3 ms·

I think a big problem is that it's typically not given as an alternative. You're either us or them... which makes sense, otherwise the wedge wouldn't work. How

by sershe 5y ago

I think a big problem is that it's typically not given as an alternative. You're either us or them... which makes sense, otherwise the wedge wouldn't work. However, I also don't think that to the extent that it is true, this theory correctly identifies the biggest problem. For example, for all the abstract faulting of race-blind institutions in New Jim Crow, most of the actual examples it gives (poll tests, housing segregation, where to enforce the law against drugs/deals, sentencing disparity, etc.) follow the same formula - government power + personal discretion. I.e. good ol' racism that is given the power that can be applied selectively. I think that is a much, much bigger problem than the classist institutions that propagate the resulting racial disparities. If the former issue was resolved by (1) not creating opportunities for it (2) creating compensatory policies like affirmative action/etc.; classist institutions would stop being race-correlated over time.

beaconstudios 5y ago
There's certainly room for that argument - I think the problem is that as it stands right now, the divide is too great to overcome without active intervention because the outcomes of white and black people are bifurcated. Thus, a large effort will need to be undertaken if the races are to reach opportunity parity. I think that the two solutions you posited, reducing the opportunity for active discrimination and providing affirmative action opportunities, are a big help - however some institutional reforms are also necessary, including (in my humble, foreign opinion) government investment in predominantly black schools and enterprises, and ending the drug war which disproportionately affects both the poor, and minorities. Once parity is reached I think these resources could be allocated on a purely economic basis, but until then I think that the US government has a moral obligation to resolve the problems that it created.
- sershe 5y ago
  Well, those policies do both fall in the same framework. Ending war on drugs is basically removing government power that can be, and is, abused in a racist way. Licensing is another one btw (many occupations require licensing => licenses are not given to felons => drug "crimes" are felonies => boom). Investing in black schools and enterprises is broadly similar to affirmative action in that they are biases that compensate for prior opposite biases. Both are compatible with overall meritocracy and classism...

by sershe 5y ago

beaconstudios 5y ago

There's certainly room for that argument - I think the problem is that as it stands right now, the divide is too great to overcome without active intervention because the outcomes of white and black people are bifurcated. Thus, a large effort will need to be undertaken if the races are to reach opportunity parity. I think that the two solutions you posited, reducing the opportunity for active discrimination and providing affirmative action opportunities, are a big help - however some institutional reforms are also necessary, including (in my humble, foreign opinion) government investment in predominantly black schools and enterprises, and ending the drug war which disproportionately affects both the poor, and minorities. Once parity is reached I think these resources could be allocated on a purely economic basis, but until then I think that the US government has a moral obligation to resolve the problems that it created.

sershe 5y ago
Well, those policies do both fall in the same framework. Ending war on drugs is basically removing government power that can be, and is, abused in a racist way. Licensing is another one btw (many occupations require licensing => licenses are not given to felons => drug "crimes" are felonies => boom). Investing in black schools and enterprises is broadly similar to affirmative action in that they are biases that compensate for prior opposite biases. Both are compatible with overall meritocracy and classism...