Public pools were once an attempt to level the playing field by providing goods accessible to everyone. After Black people were included due to legislation requiring the desegregation of pools, the communities response was to?
drain and fill in their public pools
What flawed belief suggests that gains for one group necessarily result in losses for another?
What is the zero-sum fallacy?
What was the name of the town in the Northeast that McGhee discussed in Chapter 10 in regard to a small-town success story in relation to solidarity?
Lewistown, Maine
McGhee argues that racial and government resentment are fueled by this fear of losing privilege and status to marginalized groups.
What is white fear?
Discuss how education is sometimes viewed through a zero-sum context and the consequences of this
Professor Judges!
Examples:
- investment in one public school as a cost to others
- affirmative action
Describe the social and economic benefits of immigrants to rural towns as discussed in Chapter 10
Professor Judges!
Examples:
Social- close community, social network
Economic- revitalized economy, occupied storefronts, business success
Racism has created a perception of undeserving racialized people resulting in many white Americans doing what come election season?
What is vote against their best interests
Discuss examples in the book where zero-sum theory is analyzed when looking at jobs and careers?
Professor Judges!
Examples:
-manufacturing jobs in factories and how there was little room for promotions that disproportionately affects people of color based on how the company was founded
the restoration of public goods and services for all
The shift in racial attitudes from overt biological racism to more subtle forms of discrimination based on perceived culture and behavior
Racial Resentment
Provide examples of policies/laws that feed into/and even contribute to the zero-sum game fallacy
Professor Judges!
Examples:
- excluding non-citizens from certain jobs
- resource allocation in education
Discuss what the McGhee means by the solidarity dividend and examples of this mentioned in the book
Professor- up to you!
Ex:
- when communities/societies come together in solidarity across racial and social lines to promote equity
On a scale of 1 to 10, the average white scoring of anti-Black bias was 3.6, but whites rated anti-white bias as a
4.7
Based on McGhee's discussion, how does the zero sum fallacy relate to environmental issues?
McGhee highlights 5 Potential strategies to fixing the current social, racial, and economic climate of the US. Name all 5!
We have reached the productive and moral limit of the zero sum economic model and have no choice but to work towards a solidarity dividend
Refill the pool of public goods for everyone
Resist the urge to use universal instruments to attend universal ends
Getting white support to address those different levels of need and acknowledging the racism that causes those differences/Uprooting the zero sum as well as embedding the value of the knowledge that we need each other
We have to get on the same page as a people (creating and understanding the truth of our shared history and moving forward with a new story)