Book Review of The New American Dilemma: Liberal Democracy and School Desegregation

Abstract

The basic thesis of this book is that neither minorities nor whites benefit when incremental and participatory methods are used to desegregate schools. Rather, it argues, school desegregation can succeed only when rapid and extensive change is imposed by nonelected officials, at a centralized level, and without citizen involvement. Chapter 1 covers the relationship of racism and liberalism in American history and surveys prevailing notions about why racism exists and how it can be abolished. Using socioeconomic status (SES) data on blacks, Chapter 2 challenges the argument that racism and its consequences can be eradicated through conventional forms of political action. Chapter 3 includes a list of goals for desegregation and briefly discusses two notions of how social change can and should occur: incrementalism and popular control. Chapter 4 argues that incremental policy-making cannot promote the abolition of racism with reasonable promptness. Numerous examples of such policies (including time plans, busing, and voluntary desegregation plans) are cited. Chapter 4 assesses popular control and concludes that the (largely white) electorate cannot be counted on to mandate policies requiring racial balance. Chapter 5 argues that only rarely do citizen groups aid acceptance by whites of desegregation. Finally, Chapter 6 considers alternatives to previously attempted desegregation schemes. It asserts that radical change may be accomplished only through methods that are unpalatable to the ruling elite. (KH) Reviews: A provocative examination of school desegregation in America and how it does--and does not--succeed. "In this powerful tract on school desegregation, Jennifer Hochschild formulates the most searching challenge to the theory of incrementalism that I have come across in recent years." --David Braybrooke "A comprehensive synthesis of what is known about the processes of school desegregation and a powerful policy oriented argument on a subject whose crucial significance Americans have been unable to wish away." --Paul E. Peterson, Brookings Institution "A well written, insightful survey and analysis of the pattern of school desegregation in American society since the Supreme Court's Brown decisions and a first rate analysis of the implementation of public policy in the US, with perceptive remarks on incrementalism as a method of change."--Choice "The New American Dilemma is policy analysis as it should be done, thorough in its consideration of evidence and bold in its examination of fundamental issues of political practice and social theory."--Clarence N. Stone, Ethics "Important 30 years after Brown, and provocative wherever Hochschild's sharp, darting intellect alights." --Kirkus Reviews "Hochschild's book skillfully illuminates the subject of desegregation in public education and the problems of racism. It is an important book." --Eric S. Tachau, The Louisville Courier Journal "Fresh evidence that school desegregation in America still scrapes the raw nerve endings of race and class. . . . (Hochschild) is at home in the world of ideas. Her book is at once a work of political theory and an examination of the prospects for school desegregation.... Whatever stance one takes toward her thesis, much of the argument is convincing." --J. Anthony Lukas, Nation "This is a thorough, well documented study of school desegregation that is highly recommended by the reviewer for professionals in this area." --David Steiniche, Perspective "This book makes a cogent case for the urgent need as well as the feasibility of desegregation. . . . This is a carefully reasoned and engaging background for what should be a national debate."--Andrea Levin, Journal of Policy Analysis and Management "This is a must book not only for those who have lost--or never had--a vision of school desegregation as a necessary tool for the elimination of racial inequality in our society: it is also a compendium of guidelines and supporting evidence for those who remain committed to this vision. The level of scholarship is monumental...and the logic and forcefulness of Hochschild's arguments seem inescapable."--M. Richard Kramer, The Annals of the American Academy of Political and Social Change "The stunning boldness of [Hochschild's] thesis is supported by evidence of wide scholarship, careful structural analysis and synthesis, explicit political theory, and, above all, an extraordinary and searching intellect."--Burke Marshall, Yale Law & Policy Review "Jennifer Hochschild has written an important study of desegregation that covers law, history, practice, and policy. She proposes a solution that many readers will challenge. But few will question the power and logic of her underlying analysis."--Frank D. Aquila, Phi Delta Kappa "The New American Dilemma challenges almost all positions cherished by liberals and leftists, blacks and whites, including gradualism, democratic participation and ethnic solidarity. Because of that alone, The New American Dilemma is invaluable." --Richard H. King, Journal of American Studies "A solid contribution to the literature on desegregation. . . . . This thought provoking book provides an excellent perspective on the thirty years of desegregation since Brown." --Mary Jo Newborn, Michigan Law Review