Facing Reality

Facing Reality: Two Truths about Race in America by Charles Murray

My rating: 5 of 5 stars


*** Possible Spoilers ***

The author states his case pretty clearly. What isn't clear, and what he believes irrelevant, are the reasons behind the differences between races. Some people claim the root causes are sociological while others suggest they are genetically based. This is a hot-button issue. As a result it will not can cannot be researched effectively or at all. More importantly, from the perspective of the author, is our response to these differences. His argument is that by adopting identity politics we will increase polarization in North America and that in turn will lead to a re-balancing of power which will negate democracy. Exactly what form of autocracy will replace it isn't clear, perhaps a cross between the Chinese single party system and Russia with its facade of democracy although one carefully orchestrated by the Kremlin.

I'm not convinced he has analyzed the situation correctly. Identity politics involves more than classification by race. Friction exists between the sub-groups within EVERY demographic. Pick a demographic - age, religion, ideology, culture, language, gender, sexual orientation, level of education, socioeconomic status - you name it. Within you will find the various subgroups, perhaps not at war, but certainly viewing one another with considerable skepticism verging on dislike.

Social media makes a difficult situation worse. Within any number of demographic echo-chambers there are increasingly harsh criticisms of the 'other'. Like heating water in a closed container pressure builds up over time. Attempts to ameliorate this generally have a reverse effect. Some platforms do their best to eliminate the worst of the vitriol thereby moving it to smaller platforms which become enclaves for extreme views. As a result, most people are probably unaware just how vicious the mood is becoming among some groups within the populous as a whole.

The author's only recommendation is to give up group identities and treat people as individuals. This sounds very good but implementation would mean massive changes in government policies which would generate a huge media, and social-media backlash.

Frankly, after reading this book I feel rather pessimistic about the future of North American society. Given the increased friction among groups combined with physical stresses such as global warming and you have all the elements needed for a massive disaster.

The good news I believe is there exists an incredibly large number of people who are more intent on living their lives than tearing everything apart and perhaps sheer inertia will keep things progressing on a more or less even keel.



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