Book contents
- Frontmatter
- Contents
- List of figures and maps
- List of tables
- List of boxes
- Acknowledgments
- Prologue
- Part I St. Thomas Jefferson
- Part II Blacks and the pursuit of happiness
- 2 The lost boys
- 3 What Germany did that America has not
- 4 Do we want affirmative action for whites only?
- Part III Yours for a better world
- Part IV A history of moral confusion
- Epilogue
- Appendix: tables with comments
- References
- Index of names
- Index of subjects
4 - Do we want affirmative action for whites only?
from Part II - Blacks and the pursuit of happiness
Published online by Cambridge University Press: 22 September 2009
- Frontmatter
- Contents
- List of figures and maps
- List of tables
- List of boxes
- Acknowledgments
- Prologue
- Part I St. Thomas Jefferson
- Part II Blacks and the pursuit of happiness
- 2 The lost boys
- 3 What Germany did that America has not
- 4 Do we want affirmative action for whites only?
- Part III Yours for a better world
- Part IV A history of moral confusion
- Epilogue
- Appendix: tables with comments
- References
- Index of names
- Index of subjects
Summary
From a black perspective … the notion that a black [who passes for white] might reclaim his ethnic identity to take advantage of preferential admissions can only trigger an almost inexpressible sense of outrage.
(J. C. Livingston, 1979)We return to market analysis. Costs are important in making decisions, not only market decisions but also decisions by public officials about how to allocate scarce resources. The cost of information is often central to a decision and there is a trade-off between cost and quality. Even rough information may be preferred if the cost is virtually nil and the price of better information is great. I will argue that black skin provides information at a bargain price and that blacks suffer as a consequence purely because of their group membership.
The reason black skin provides information is that it can allow rational actors to predict behavior, or at least make statistical predictions. Once again, it makes sense to act on statistics if more accurate information relevant to an individual's behavior would be costly. Social scientists are often naïve on this point. They say, “It makes no difference if we show that blacks on average are less prudent and self-disciplined than whites and tend more often to be criminal. Only a biased person will discriminate against people according to their group membership rather than judging them by their individual traits.”
Sophisticated social scientists know that this last assertion is demonstrably false.
- Type
- Chapter
- Information
- Where Have All the Liberals Gone?Race, Class, and Ideals in America, pp. 112 - 128Publisher: Cambridge University PressPrint publication year: 2008