From: gcf@panix.com (Gordon Fitch)
Subject: Re: On Banning Private Discrimination
Date: Wed, 22 Jul 1992 02:59:17 GMT
Organization: mydog in exile

starr@genie.slhs.udel.edu (Tim Starr) wanted me to email a
copy of my argument that a free market distributed racism.
I can't find it, so I reconstituted it.  And here it is,
in case you didn't see the other one:

Let us suppose that there is a population which includes a
Tasmanian minority comprising about 10%, and that the
non-Tasmanian majority is about one-third bigoted --
sufficiently bigoted so that they will either not live near
Tasmanians at all, or will at least pay a premium not to.
Let us also suppose that there are a number of landlords and
housing developers, and a free market in housing.

Now, the landlords and developers will quickly find that if
they serve the Tasmanians, they will lose the one-third who
prefer Tasmanian-free housing, that is, about 30% of their
potential customers, whereas if they refuse Tasmanians, they
will lose only 10% of their potential customers.  Every
single landlord and developer will thus feel economically
pressured to discriminate against Tasmanians.  And so, even
though only a minority of the population are bigoted, their
preference for the "utility" of prejudice will be spread by
market forces throughout the community. 

This example is, of course, a considerable simplification of 
a complex process.  For instance, we have not considered how
the price of housing will rise for Tasmanians, or how
analogous processes in the job market will cause them to
have less money to bid for housing.  However, since we can
see results in history which the theory would predict, we
can assume the theory at least approximates the behavior of
real communities.

Now, strictly speaking, there is no political problem, but
only as long as the Tasmanians consent to their role in the
social contract.  If they find that the operation of the
social contract consistently injures them, individually and
as a community, then it will be both rational and
emotionally satisfying for them to revolt.  After all, we
can see in the United States that racial discrimination
shortens as well as worsens the life of its objects; it is a
kind of murder, even though no single person holds a gun.
Only a very few people will consent to being murdered,
however slowly and anonymously.

Revolt, rebellion, even random crime are expensive either to
suppress or endure.  The majority, even the bigoted part of
the majority, must balance the pleasures of prejudice
against its costs.  Sweet as the violent suppression of a
despised minority may be, much gets broken in the process,
and in general the majority will try to find another
solution.  Hence -- since bigotry and sadism seem to grow
among humans like mushrooms after a rain -- state
interference.

There _are_ alternatives; a good anarchist would simply
interfere with bigotry without waiting for the state to tell
him to do so -- but evidently such people are few and far
between.

Tim Starr:
| Given that we're experiencing the fall of statism globally, I find it hard
| to believe that any big problems with prejudice were experienced by any
| minority group in the past century sans state intervention being a major
| means of oppression, but if I'm wrong, please inform me with specifics.

I don't see any fall of statism anywhere.  But I recognize
that the private corporation is a part of the state.  What
we might fondly call the ruling class, if it weren't losing
control, may be hiding its stuff, but they've still got
most of it together.  In the United States, meanwhile, the
Federal Government is increasing its police powers and
activities while a supine Supreme Court does nothing.  But
I digress.

Even though it was against the law for many years, there is
endless evidence that persons of color have suffered big
problems with prejudice in essential areas like business and
housing for generations, including the most recent ones,
even in northern, supposedly liberal jurisdictions.  Ask 
your question in soc.culture.african.american and let
them tell you all about it.
-- 
Gordon Fitch | gcf@panix.com | uunet!cmcl2!panix!gcf 
*       1238 Blg. Grn. Sta., N.Y., N.Y. 10274      *
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