Perceived power, not weakness, makes minorities likeliest to be scapegoated

Evidence

Thus, Allport’s critique that it “is not true that a defenseless minority is always chosen” (p. 351) is turned into a much stronger claim in the model presented here – it is precisely the perceived power of a group (not its perceived weakness) that makes it likely to be scapegoated. Earlier views dismissed perceptions of the scapegoat’s power and malevolence as mere projections (of perpetrators’ own megalomania and murderous intentions), but for the genocides listed above, envious stereotypes can be traced to prior historical circumstances (e.g., a middleman role) that conditioned the structural relations between groups. Envious stereotypes are here viewed more as a cause (increasing the likelihood that a group will be blamed for misfortunes) than a consequence of scapegoating. When a history of envious prejudice collides with a precipitous decline in a society’s life conditions, successful minorities are at grave risk. — John F. Dovidio, Peter Glick, Laurie A. Rudman, On the Nature of Prejudice, 1595

Thus, Allport’s critique that it “is not true that a defenseless minority is always chosen” (p. 351) is turned into a much stronger claim in the model presented here – it is precisely the perceived power of a group (not its perceived weakness) that makes it likely to be scapegoated. Earlier views dismissed perceptions of the scapegoat’s power and malevolence as mere projections (of perpetrators’ own megalomania and murderous intentions), but for the genocides listed above, envious stereotypes can be traced to prior historical circumstances (e.g., a middleman role) that conditioned the structural relations between groups. Envious stereotypes are here viewed more as a cause (increasing the likelihood that a group will be blamed for misfortunes) than a consequence of scapegoating. When a history of envious prejudice collides with a precipitous decline in a society’s life conditions, successful minorities are at grave risk. — , Rudman, Laurie A - On the Nature of…, 1595

Categorization

• XREF: Builds on the existing sacrifice work — sacrificial victim selection often favored those seen as elevated or powerful, similar to the envious-stereotype dynamic here.
• DEEPTHINKING: The inversion — scapegoats are chosen for perceived power, with envy as cause rather than projection — overturns a core assumption of classic scapegoating theory and has wide implicative reach.
• FICTION: A society scapegoats its most successful, structurally embedded minority during economic collapse — strong engine for a story about misplaced blame.
• corroborated: 3 independent passages support this claim — John F. Dovidio, Peter Glick, Laurie A. Rudman, On the Nature of Prejudice: Fifty Years…, 1595; , Rudman, Laurie A - On the Nature of…, 1595