The neutral liberal subject is defined against the racialized communitarian other

Evidence

The disparities are often understood as warranted if they stem from some groups having on average more serious offenses or prior violent conviction records, which can explain the more punitive outcomes they face. … If the racial disproportionality in prisons is directly attributable to criminal justice officials’ discrimination on the basis of race, a massive legal and political effort should be mobilized to redress that evil. If, however, the disproportionality results predominantly from some legally relevant difference between the races, such as a corresponding differential involvement in crime, then the charge of “racism” would not be justified. Indeed, it could be more harmful than helpful. (p. 1261) Social scientists have been diligent at accounting for these legally relevant factors through statistical techniques that allow a comparison of similarly situated defendants, apples-to-apples so to speak. — Joseph Avery, Jim Sidanius, Joel Cooper, Gregory Davis, Amanda N., Bias in the Law, 557 (#complicates, via linked claim)

Categorization

• XREF: connects to: Liberal democracy’s neutral ideals mask racial and gendered domination — Wendy Brown, Undoing the Demos: Neoliberalism’s…, 406; Liberal neutrality masks power by presenting exclusion as reason’s product — Chantal Mouffe, The Democratic Paradox, 135; Liberal tolerance means treating opponents as legitimate enemies, not neutralizing conflict — Chantal Mouffe, The Democratic Paradox, 459 (+10 more)

Broader Connections

• Labeling race-neutral disparities racist is itself harmful and counterproductive #complicates (0.72) — Joseph Avery, Jim Sidanius, Joel Cooper, Gregory Davis, Amanda N., Bias in the Law, 557