Deficit explanations shift between genetics and laziness without changing their logic

Evidence

Recently an acquaintance said to Rebecca that he had heard that if all the wealth in the world were redistributed evenly to all the people in the world, the same few people who are currently rich would again be rich within three months. “And I believe it!” he exclaimed. Rebecca said, “Oh, so you believe that they are genetically superior?” “No! They all work harder, and some people are just lazy!” “Hmm … so does that mean your father who worked so hard all his life is somehow inferior? He’s just lazier?” The man paused, then exclaimed. “Maybe it is genetics!” — Rebecca A. Martusewicz, Jeff Edmundson, and John Lupinacci, EcoJustice Education, 934

Categorization

• CANDY: A funny, self-contained classroom anecdote showing the genetic/lazy deficit circle that is easy to retell.
• XREF: connects to: Deficit explanations deflect analysis of structural barriers like low-wage jobs — Rebecca A. Martusewicz, Jeff Edmundson, and John Lupinacci, EcoJustice Education: Toward Diverse,…, 942; Biological determinism lets privileged subjects dismiss the social causes of inequality — Peter Morey, Islamophobia and the Novel, 118

Broader Connections

• Biological determinism lets privileged subjects dismiss the social causes of inequality #complicates (0.80) — Peter Morey, Islamophobia and the Novel, 118