Anatomy of Racial Inequality: With a New Preface

In his book "The Anatomy of Racial Inequality," Glenn Loury explores the persistent barriers faced by black Americans in society, including lower wages, unemployment, income levels, test scores, incarceration rates, and health outcomes. He argues that a cycle of tainted social information has created racial stereotypes that rationalize and sustain discrimination and proposes ways to change this. The book is praised for its insightful analysis and bold conclusions, offering a new way of understanding and addressing racial inequality in America.

Format: Paperback / softback
Length: 256 pages
Publication date: 10 September 2021
Publisher: Harvard University Press

“Lifts and transforms the discourse on ‘race and racial justice to an entirely new level.” —Orlando Patterson

“Intellectually rigorous and deeply thoughtful…An incisive, erudite book by a major thinker.” —Gerald Early, New York Times Book Review

Why are black Americans so persistently confined to the margins of society? And why do they fail across so many metrics—wages, unemployment, income levels, test scores, incarceration rates, health outcomes? Known for his influential work on the economics of racial inequality and for pioneering the link between racism and social capital, Glenn Loury is not afraid of piercing orthodoxies and coming to controversial conclusions. In this now classic work, reconsidered in light of recent events, he describes how a vicious cycle of tainted social information helped create the racial stereotypes that rationalize and sustain discrimination, and suggests how this might be changed.

Brilliant in its account of how racial classifications are created and perpetuated, and how they resonate through the social, psychological, spiritual, and economic life of the nation, this compelling and passionate book gives us a new way of seeing—and of seeing beyond—the damning categorization of race.

“Paints in chilling detail the distance between Martin Luther King’s dream and the reality of present-day America.” —Anthony Walton, Harpers

“Loury provides an original and highly persuasive account of how the American racial hierarchy is sustained and reproduced over time. And he then demands that we begin the deep structural reforms that will be necessary to stop its continued reproduction.” —Michael Walzer

“He is a genuine maverick thinker… The Anatomy of Racial Inequality both epitomizes and explains Loury’s understanding of the depressed condition of black Americans.

Loury’s work is a powerful and important contribution to the ongoing debate about race and social inequality in America. His analysis of the social and economic factors that contribute to racial disparities is insightful and thought-provoking, and his recommendations for addressing these issues are practical and actionable. This book is a must-read for anyone who wants to better understand the complex and challenging issues surrounding race and social justice in America.”

Weight: 244g
Dimension: 139 x 210 x 21 (mm)
ISBN-13: 9780674260467
Edition number: 2 ed