Argument
In Privilege, Power, and Difference, Allan Johnson argues that privilege has been created and sustained by social systems and not from individual actions, and that social categories like race, gender, and class are simply social constructs that organize power and privilege in society. With all that we know about the trouble surrounding issues of difference in our society, we are individually and collectively in a sort of paralysis that is preventing us from taking steps to acknowledge or solve the problem.
Allan G. Johnson explains that in society, differences such as skin pigmentation only gain significance because society assigns meaning to them. Without this social meaning, these differences would be irrelevant. In our society, these constructed categories shape who is seen as “superior,” who holds power, and who receives unearned advantages or disadvantages. Because race, gender, and similar identities are socially created categories, they are not fixed and can change if people recognize how they operate within systems of privilege and oppression.
One point Johnson makes is that this paralysis comes from the defensive feelings people have when the conversation about how we as individuals are connected to these troubles. The argument overall is that how we perceive racism, sexism, classism and other social issues affects the solution. An important point he makes is that individuals must understand that the way things are aren’t the result of an individual themselves thinking this way or from their own behavior, but instead are simply part of a system that has privilege and oppression built into it. Understanding this can help people shift away from the defensive reactions when these conversations are brought up in society. In order to help these troubles, we need to understand that the problems of racism and sexism don’t solely belong to those that are affected by it. Making it “your problem” doesn’t mean you yourself are the problem, it means seeing how you yourself benefit from privilege, and understanding how privilege operates in society, and how it affects people both negatively and positively.
Reflection
Reading Privilege, Power and Difference, truly made me consider the way that society functions. Why have we given so much value to our differences, to the point where these social categories have caused certain groups to have more rights than others. These unequal rights are a thing of the very recent past, with people of color and women only getting the rights to access credit cards with the Equal Credit Opportunity Act in 1974. What would change if you woke up tomorrow as a different race, gender, sexual orientation or class? How would it affect your self perception or the circumstances of your life? Would you be treated differently? Would you have different concerns? In order to make real change in this system, these conversations must be had about uncomfortable things and how some people benefit from this system don’t notice how these privileges are built into society, but those who are negatively impacted by this structure can see the effects daily.
