>>> Rakesh Bhandari writes,
Murray and Herrnstein argue for elimination of any affirmative action for these groups, a cut back on any public educational monies for substandard people, selective immigration laws against substandard groups, the elimination of welfare on the grounds that it may encourage more reproduction among these groups. Social scientists laughed at their argument; Pete Wilson has attempted to implement every one of their recommendations. And has been wildly successful so far. Social scientists haven't been so good at figuring out why these laughable arguments become public policy or, to put it another way, why the public policy these laughable ideas support is implemented.
Charles comments:
A main social cause of these arguments becoming policy is that the main strategy of the U.S. ruling class in the class struggle is to divide the working class based on race. As part of the Reaganite counter- reform, the New Racism's essence is to reverse the 60's REFORM consensus that racism is a problem and evil to be ended by declaring that racism is no longer a problem; and the cause of problems in the Black community come from "within" Black people (the family, inferior intellects) - in other words, a return to old inherent (rather than externally caused) inferority theories. The Bell Curve and The End of Racism are just the thing for this.
The ruling ideas of any age are the ideas of its ruling classes, until we abolish class society. You can fool all of the people some of the time and some of the people all of the time. When do we get to the part where you can't fool all of the people all of the time ?