Dismantling privilege : an ethics of accountability / Mary Elizabeth Hobgood.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Hobgood, Mary E., 1946-

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Elite (Social sciences)--United States.

Elite (Social sciences).

Social stratification.

United States.

Social stratification--United States.

Social ethics.

Christian sociology.

Physical Description:

xiv, 210 pages ; 23 cm

Edition:

Revised and updated, revised edition.

Place of Publication:

Cleveland : Pilgrim Press, 2009.

Summary:

Dismantling Privilege serves as a religious and cultural resource for challenging such common misconceptions of assumed privilege and for moving toward a more just society. Hobgood helps people discern the dynamics of class, race, sex-gender, and ecological privilege and oppression that shape us as persons who are also called to accountability and solidarity, virtues recognized by Christianity and all world religions as highly efficient ways of maximizing individual and social well being.

In addition to a new introduction and updated statistics, a concluding chapter to this revised and updated edition targets ecological crisis as the most pressing concern for accountable disciples and looks to political stirrings in Africa and Latin America for inspiration in movement building.

Contents:

Introduction 1

Theological Grounding for Dismantling Privilege 1

Hurricane Katrina 3

War 4

Ecological Crisis 6

Economic Polarization and Post-Democracy 8

Challenging the Adequacy of Our Ideology 11

1 An Ethical Agenda for Elites 14

Working Definitions 16

Why the Privileged Should Dismantle Privilege 19

The Moral Ambiguity of Being Elite 21

Social Theory and Christian Ethics 25

The Autonomous Self and Invisible Group Power 27

The Self as a Self-in-Relation 30

Moral and Political Tasks 33

Privilege and Christian Ethics 34

Why Christianity Has Avoided Examining Privilege 36

An Agenda for the Privileged 38

2 Dismantling Whiteness 42

Race is Grounded in Class 42

The Race System 44

What is at Stake for Whites 46

The Dangers of Exploring Whiteness 49

Whiteness as Wages for industrial Morality 50

Making Whiteness Divine to Increase White Wages 54

Invisible Affirmative Action for Whites 55

Economic Affirmative Action for Whites 56

Cultural Affirmative Action for Whites 58

Political Affirmative Action for Whites 58

Ecological Affirmative Action for Whites 60

How Whites are Hurt by White Privilege 61

Catholic Social Teaching and Racism 63

Dismantling Whiteness through Coalition Politics 64

3 An Economic Ethics of Right Relationship 66

The Taboo Social System of Class 66

Blood on Our Food, Tears on Our Clothes 69

Scripture, Tradition, and Class Power 70

Camouflaging Group Membership 73

Dividing the Working Class by Gender, Race, and Income 77

Increasing Income Stratification in the Working Class 80

Using Race and Gender to Hide Class 85

The Ideology of Hard Work and Bad Luck 86

The Recent History of Capitalism 88

The System of Finance 93

Economic Crisis 94

Intensified Managerial Control 96

Who Benefits and Who Suffers? 99

How Elites Are Vulnerable and Damaged 103

Violation of Trust-Destruction of Community 106

Solidarity Is the Solution 108

4 Constructing a Compassionate Sexuality 111

The Dynamics of Gender 111

Gender and Economic Power 113

Gender, Eros, and Cultural Power 117

It Has Not Always and Everywhere Been So 123

How Elites Are Hurt 127

The Contribution of Christian Teachings 130

Sketching an Ethical Eroticism 132

5 Relational Labor and the Politics of Solidarity 136

Why Diverse Subordinates Are Natural Allies 137

Why Alliances Are Hard to Build 139

Relational Labor and the Prophetic Imagination 141

Relational Labor and Christian Ethics 144

Analysis Is Not Politics 147

The Nature of Authentic Privilege 148

6 Intellectual and Political Struggle: An Agenda for Accountable Disciples 150

Ecologizing the Economy: The Most Pressing Moral Assignment 153

Earth Healing and Human Evolution 155

Climate Meltdown and Earth-Healing Policies 157

Needed: Disciples Sawy about Power and Responsibility 159

Learning from Africa and Latin America 161

Political Strategies in U.S. Justice Struggle 168

The Universe Bends toward Justice 171.

Notes:

Includes bibliographical references (pages 175-200) and index.

ISBN:

0829818235

9780829818239

OCLC:

278425595