Dark Ghettos : Injustice, Dissent, and Reform

Why do American ghettos persist? Decades after Moynihan’s report on the black family and the Kerner Commission’s investigations of urban disorders, deeply disadvantaged black communities remain a disturbing reality. Scholars and commentators today often identify some factor—such as single motherhood, joblessness, or violent street crime—as the key to solving the problem and recommend policies accordingly. But, Tommie Shelby argues, these attempts to “fix” ghettos or “help” their poor inhabitants ignore fundamental questions of justice and fail to see the urban poor as moral agents responding to injustice. Drawing on liberal-egalitarian philosophy and informed by leading social science research, __Dark Ghettos__ examines the thorny questions of political morality raised by ghettos. Should government foster integrated neighborhoods? If a “culture of poverty” exists, what interventions are justified? Should single parenthood be avoided or deterred? Is voluntary nonwork or crime an acceptable mode of dissent? How should a criminal justice system treat the oppressed? Shelby offers practical answers, framed in terms of what justice requires of both a government and its citizens, and he views the oppressed as allies in the fight for a society that warrants everyone’s allegiance. “The ghetto is not ‘their’ problem but ours, privileged and disadvantaged alike,” Shelby writes. The existence of ghettos is evidence that our society is marred by structural injustices that demand immediate rectification. __Dark Ghettos__ advances a social vision and political ethics that calls for putting the abolition of ghettos at the center of reform. Why Do Ghettos Persist? Tommie Shelby Asks In Dark Ghettos. Today, Ghettos Are Widely Seen As Social Problems That Public Policy Should Aim To Solve. Shelby Calls This The Medical Model Because It Portrays Ghettos As Sick Patients In Need Of Treatment. In His View, This Model Ignores The Political Agency Of The Ghetto Poor And The Underlying Social Structures That Perpetuate Disadvantage In Black Communities. Shelby Argues That We Should Conceive Of Ghettos Within A Justice Paradigm Instead. Adopting A Rawlsian Framework, He Considers The Existence Of Ghettos As A Sign Of Deeply Embedded Social Injustice, And He Offers A Nonideal Social Theory, Establishing What The Government And Citizens Are Obligated And Permitted To Do Within Fundamentally Unfair Conditions. His Theory Arises Through Practical Considerations: Should The American Government Enforce Residential Diversity? Should Welfare Programs Disincentivize Single Motherhood? For Those Who Live In Ghettos, Is Voluntary Non-work--or Street Violence, Or Hip-hop--a Just And Valid Form Of Dissent? Ultimately, Shelby Aims To Establish Principles That Will Lead To The Abolishment Of Ghettos Through Just Reform.-- Introduction: Rethinking The Problem Of The Ghetto -- Part I. Liberty, Equality, Fraternity -- Injustice -- Community -- Culture -- Part Ii. Of Love And Labor -- Reproduction -- Family -- Work -- Part Iii. Rejecting The Claims Of Law -- Crime -- Punishment -- Impure Dissent -- Epilogue: Renewing Ghetto Abolitionism. Tommie Shelby. Includes Bibliographical References And Index. Winner of the Spitz Prize, Conference for the Study of Political ThoughtWinner of the North American Society for Social Philosophy Book AwardWhy do American ghettos persist? Scholars and commentators often identify some factor—such as single motherhood, joblessness, or violent street crime—as the key to solving the problem and recommend policies accordingly. But, Tommie Shelby argues, these attempts to “fix” ghettos or “help” their poor inhabitants ignore fundamental questions of justice and fail to see the urban poor as moral agents responding to injustice.“Provocative...[Shelby] doesn't lay out a jobs program or a housing initiative. Indeed, as he freely admits, he offers ‘no new political strategies or policy proposals.'What he aims to do instead is both more abstract and more radical: to challenge the assumption, common to liberals and conservatives alike, that ghettos are ‘problems'best addressed with narrowly targeted government programs or civic interventions. For Shelby, ghettos are something more troubling and less tractable: symptoms of the ‘systemic injustice'of the United States. They represent not aberrant dysfunction but the natural workings of a deeply unfair scheme. The only real solution, in this way of thinking, is the ‘fundamental reform of the basic structure of our society.'”—James Ryerson, New York Times Book Review

Why do American ghettos persist? Scholars and commentators often identify some factor—such as single motherhood, joblessness, or violent street crime—as the key to solving the problem and recommend policies accordingly. But, Tommie Shelby argues, these attempts to "fix" ghettos or "help" their poor inhabitants ignore fundamental questions of justice and fail to see the urban poor as moral agents responding to injustice."Provocative...[Shelby] doesn't lay out a jobs program or a housing initiative. Indeed, as he freely admits, he offers 'no new political strategies or policy proposals.' What he aims to do instead is both more abstract and more radical: to challenge the assumption, common to liberals and conservatives alike, that ghettos are 'problems' best addressed with narrowly targeted government programs or civic interventions. For Shelby, ghettos are something more troubling and less tractable: symptoms of the 'systemic injustice' of the United States. They represent not aberrant dysfunction but the natural workings of a deeply unfair scheme. The only real solution, in this way of thinking, is the 'fundamental reform of the basic structure of our society.'"—James Ryerson, New York Times Book Review

Why do American ghettos persist? Scholars and commentators often identify some factor—such as single motherhood, joblessness, or violent street crime—as the key to solving the problem and recommend policies accordingly. But, Tommie Shelby argues, these attempts to “fix” ghettos or “help” their poor inhabitants ignore fundamental questions of justice and fail to see the urban poor as moral agents responding to injustice. “Provocative...[Shelby] doesn’t lay out a jobs program or a housing initiative. Indeed, as he freely admits, he offers ‘no new political strategies or policy proposals.’ What he aims to do instead is both more abstract and more radical: to challenge the assumption, common to liberals and conservatives alike, that ghettos are ‘problems’ best addressed with narrowly targeted government programs or civic interventions. For Shelby, ghettos are something more troubling and less tractable: symptoms of the ‘systemic injustice’ of the United States. They represent not aberrant dysfunction but the natural workings of a deeply unfair scheme. The only real solution, in this way of thinking, is the ‘fundamental reform of the basic structure of our society.’” —James Ryerson, New York Times Book Review "Why do ghettos persist?" Tommie Shelby asks in Dark Ghettos. Today, ghettos are widely seen as social problems that public policy should aim to solve. Shelby calls this the "medical model" because it portrays ghettos as sick patients in need of treatment. In his view, this model ignores the political agency of the ghetto poor and the underlying social structures that perpetuate disadvantage in black communities. Shelby argues that we should conceive of ghettos within a "justice paradigm" instead. Adopting a Rawlsian framework, he considers the existence of ghettos as a sign of deeply embedded social injustice, and he offers a "nonideal" social theory, establishing what the government and citizens are obligated and permitted to do within fundamentally unfair conditions. His theory arises through practical considerations: should the American government enforce residential diversity? Should welfare programs disincentivize single motherhood? For those who live in ghettos, is voluntary non-work--or street violence, or hip-hop--a just and valid form of dissent? Ultimately, Shelby aims to establish principles that will lead to the abolishment of ghettos through just reform.-- Provided by publisher Contents Introduction: Rethinking the Prob lem of the Ghetto PART I Liberty, Equality, Fraternity 1 Injustice 2 Community 3 Culture PART II Of Love and Labor 4 Reproduction 5 Family 6 Work PART III Rejecting the Claims of Law 7 Crime 8 Punishment 9 Impure Dissent Epilogue: Renewing Ghetto Abolitionism Notes Acknowledgments Index For Tommie Shelby, the persistence of ghettos raises many thorny questions of morality, and he offers practical answers framed in terms of what justice requires of government and its citizens. His social vision and political ethics calls for putting the abolition of ghettos at the center of reform.