Whites support racial equality in principle but resist the policies implementing it

Evidence

Research on racial attitudes thus increasingly presents a paradox: Although there is continuing improvement in whites’ beliefs about blacks and support for the general principles of racial equality and integration (Taylor, Sheatsley, & Greeley, 1978), there is pronounced opposition to specific policies aimed at improving the social and economic position of blacks, as well as to participation in social settings where blacks are a substantial majority (Farley, Schuman, Bianchi, Colasanto, & Hatchett, 1978; Smith, 1981). Pettigrew (1979) described this paradox as follows: “white Americans increasingly reject racial injustice in principle, but are reluctant to accept the measures necessary to eliminate the injustice” (p. 119). — John T. Jost and Jim Sidanius, Political Psychology, 3332

Old-fashioned racism has now largely been replaced by general support for the abstract principle of racial equality (Schuman, Steeh, & Bobo, 1985; Sears & Kinder, 1971). However, there is much evidence that whites do not fully support the implications of these general principles of equality. They have often strongly opposed policies implementing that general principle, such as busing or affirmative action, leading to what Schuman, Steeh, and Bobo (1985) have called the “principle-implementation gap.” Similarly, black political candidates still seem to have unusual difficulty in attracting white support, despite some greater success in recent years. This seemingly paradoxical combination— widespread acceptance of the idea of racial equality mixed with continued resistance to change—is our starting point. — John T. Jost and Jim Sidanius, Political Psychology, 3594

Categorization

• DEFINE: This is the canonical formulation of the ‘principle-implementation gap’ that anchors symbolic/modern racism research.
• XREF: Connects to the broader literature on the gap between expressed values and actual behavior in survey research (e.g., LaPiere’s Chinese restaurant study). — connects to: Whether racism or conservatism drives white policy opposition determines who must change — Christopher Tarman and David O. Sears, The Conceptualization and Measurement…, 34; Whites sustain equality-in-principle while delegitimizing redistributive measures as a coherent ideology — John T. Jost and Jim Sidanius, Political Psychology: Key Readings, 3339; White racial ideology supports formal equality while opposing burdensome change — John T. Jost and Jim Sidanius, Political Psychology: Key Readings, 3436 (+4 more)
• corroborated: 2 independent passages support this claim — John T. Jost and Jim Sidanius, Political Psychology, 3332; John T. Jost and Jim Sidanius, Political Psychology, 3594