The accumulation of disadvantages

Abstract

Historically subordinated groups in a caste structure are disadvantaged in a multitude of social spheres. Any corrective strategy must acknowledge the interconnected character of this system of disadvantage and devise rules that prevent a disadvantage inflicted in one sphere (such as education) from being carried over and transferred to another (such as employment). This essay, drawing on the civil rights experience of the United States, explains and defends one such strategy—the idea of cumulative responsibility.