The Danger of Zero-Sum Thinking

In an excellent recent post, co-blogger David Bernstein explains how both racists and many left-wing anti-racists make the mistake of falling into the trap of zero-sum economic reasoning: too often, they assume that one racial or ethnic group can only get ahead at the expense of another. In reality, racial oppression and discrimination inflict large costs on both majority groups and minorities (even if the latter often suffer more). And both groups stand to gain from free exchange between them, and from economic policies that enable members of all groups to maximize their potential.