Sorry this is late, I was at a tournament all day
This week in class we talked about Sandel, as well as heavily discussing the topic of racism. Sandel's theory of justice states that modern political thought aims to be neutral on the goal of life, but is this always true? While our discussion of racism was not subject to the theory of Sandel, could Sandel's idea of government potentially prevented the increase of racism in our country? Throughout our history it has been seen that we tend to distinguish people by a variety of things such as skin color, gender, and social status. Sandel's theory acknowledges the fact that in a democratic system freedoms and liberties are secured because the goal is to pursue a good for the society. Would deviating from the social norms and establishing reverse racism benefit Sandel's ideal society? I believe that by using reverse racism it would just continue to cause inequality in society, and not necessarily benefitting the good of the whole society. For example, Affirmative Action was established by the government as a means to cause greater equality amongst our nation's racial groups. While this may have benefitted the minorities, is it fair to the majority? Sandel would see this program as a negative addition to the society because the government should not instigate what they think is good. How would Sandel have viewed the racism in America? how would he have tried to prevent it?
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ReplyDeleteFirstly: "Reverse racism" is a social construct that assumes *real* racism is from White to Black. Having the term "reverse racism" in our society perpetuates not only this dumb assumption, but racism in general because there is a continuing context in which this term exists. so my question to you is: WHY WOULD WOULD YOU WANT TO INSTITUTE REVERSE RACISM, OR RACISM IN ANY WAY/SHAPE/FORM IN YOUR SOCIETY!?? I mean, do you honestly think racism benefits ANYone outside the single group. There is NO way someone, Sandel or otherwise, would advocate for racism in any form. Even if White folks are the majority and this would Utilitarian-ly provide happiness for the greatest number, the fact of the matter is that White folks aren't going to be the US's majority here soon (I suggest everyone to look into Tim Wise's "Dear White America" for further information).
ReplyDeleteSecondly: Affirmative Action. Do YOU think it's unfair to our racial groups? To benefit an ALREADY MARGINALIZED group is unfair? It's not like folks decide to be born white or black (i.e., into or out of privilege). I understand how Sandel would make the argument for keeping the government outta our social lives, but I don't see making much of a case for social programs such as Affirmative Action.
I'm going to throw out the "We the People" crap the US likes to advocate. If our government is for the people by the people, then the government is already directly involved in our social lives. I don't think that advocating programs such as Affirmative Action would necessarily go against Sandel’s sentiment. It *may* go against his argument on paper, but the essence behind it, I think, supports said program. I think Sandel would consider racism as an unfortunate reality and would try to correct it. Something like Affirmative Action would be the route he’d take, as it doesn’t stifle the freedoms of others.