Stephen Steinberg

The role of social science in the legitimation of racial hierarchy

Abstract Despite its repudiation of scientific racism, the liberal paradigm on race had two fateful flaws: 1. 1) it conceptualized racism in terms of attitudes rather than conditions, and 2. 2) it failed to specify what elements of “environment” accounted for persistent racial inequalities. The result has been another victim-blaming paradigm that merely substituted culture for genes, deflecting attention away from the crucial role that political and economic institutions play in the production and reproduction of racial inequality.

Affirmative Action and Liberal Capitulation

This article examines and responds to arguments advanced by leading liberals who contend that affirmative action (AA) has been both ineffectual and counterproductive, triggering a backlash that defeats the liberal agenda. Contrary to the general assumption that AA failed as policy, it is argued that AA has been a dramatic success, resulting in significant desegregation of both blue-collar and white-collar occupations. In response to the claim that AA should be based on class rather than race, it is argued that AA was designed to address inequalities of caste, not class. Insofar as AA enhances democracy and erodes racism, liberals who oppose AA contradict their own political credo. On the other hand, the gutting of AA imperils many of the gains of the post-civil rights era.