Societies that prize equal opportunity and mobility breed intergroup competition and animosity

Evidence

Prevailing ideologies and social structures can aggravate competition, Allport argued. In particular, he suggested that in social contexts in which equality of opportunity is prized and social mobility is encouraged, perceived competition is likely. Allport (1954/1979) wrote, “But, when men [sic] are viewed as potentially equal, and by national creed are guaranteed equal rights and equal opportunity … members of even the lowest group are encouraged to put forth effort, to rise, and to demand their rights” (p. 222). Allowance, or encouragement, of upward social mobility makes evident the possibility of downward mobility, which, in the presence of a visually salient outgroup, generates competition and animosity. — , Rudman, Laurie A - On the Nature of…, 1479

Categorization

• XREF: Ties to the vault’s contact-theory claims by specifying the contextual precondition — equality-of-opportunity ideology — under which contact may instead produce competition. Relevant to the Allport reassessment thread. — connects to: When two human groups compete, the advantaged one maintains dominance through oppression — Simone de Beauvoir, The Second Sex, 151; Championing community inadvertently strengthens exclusionary bonding over inclusive bridging ties — Robert D. Putnam, Bowling Alone The Collapse and Revival…, 1443; Intergroup competition selects prosocial norms that can simultaneously dehumanize outsiders. — Joseph Henrich, The Secret of Our Success: How Culture…, 558 (+2 more)
• QUESTION: Allport’s pointing mechanism — upward mobility priming downward-mobility fear in presence of a salient outgroup — is a psychological claim worth chasing against modern realistic-threat and social-dominance research.
• corroborated: 2 independent passages support this claim — , Rudman, Laurie A - On the Nature of…, 1479