Dominants adopt individualism rhetoric once paternalism’s group order is challenged

Evidence

Under paternalism, the group basis of social life is exalted by dominants as they exhort subordinates to abide by and honor its precepts. But when that comes under challenge from subordinates, dominants move to deny the group basis of social life and the legitimacy of group-based demands. Individualism is elevated to a lofty moral principle. This renders subordinates’ new demand for equality of outcomes morally unacceptable because of its brazen disrespect for the rights of individuals (e.g., “reverse discrimination”), and political debate is rechanneled into less threatening questions about the degree to which equality of opportunity is available to all individuals (e.g., the conservative call for a “color-blind” society). The new defense of the status quo manipulates the idealistic goal of equal treatment espoused by Allport, Martin Luther King, Jr., and others in the 1950s. The idea of equality of opportunity only has meaning in a world in which inequality of outcomes is a given, and ironically, the latter renders the former unattainable because of the handicaps it dispenses unequally to the various competitors (Schaar, 1967). This catch-22 is obscured by the emphasis that is placed on procedures rather than outcomes, thus muddying the assessment of equality-of-opportunity policies (Dorn, 1979). Significantly, it undermines the moral credibility of demands made on behalf of groups and thus channels subordinates into focusing on individual opportunities and personal achievement. Individualism, with all its appearance of being reasonable, principled, and unbiased, becomes the new organizing principle for the defense of the status quo. — , Rudman, Laurie A - On the Nature of…, 674

Categorization

• XREF: Connects to the vault’s existing claims about Allport-era color-blind egalitarianism being co-opted; also resonates with critical race theory’s critique of formal equality rhetoric. — connects to: Desegregation created a double bind by trading communal bonds for competitive individualism — Rebecca A. Martusewicz, Jeff Edmundson, and John Lupinacci, EcoJustice Education: Toward Diverse,…, 1187
• DEFINE: Clear exposition of the paternalism-to-individualism regime shift that grounds the broader theory.
• corroborated: 2 independent passages support this claim — , Rudman, Laurie A - On the Nature of…, 674