Is Discrimination OK?
This is from Bryan Caplan at EconLog:
No matter what they say, everyone engages in statistical discrimination. (See also here). Judging everyone as an individual is expensive, and relying on statistical generalizations is a cheap and effective alternative. You don’t clutch your purse when you see a bunch of little old ladies approaching on a deserted street. You don’t offer a policeman a joint. You don’t hire a guy with a mohawk as a receptionist at a law firm – even if he promises to get a hair cut. Why not? Because on average, little old ladies don’t commit violent crimes, policemen arrest people for possession of marijuana, and guys with mohawks have trouble with authority.
That is an excellent link from Bryan Caplan. It reminds me of a discussion I got into with my manicurist a few weeks ago. She was talking about how she never judges people because it’s a “bad thing.” And I brought up some examples about how judgments aren’t always bad. I asked her, “Would you leave your kids with a babysitter who was just released from prison for child molestation, even if he claimed he was a change person?” Obviously, this would be a known characteristic about the person and not a generalization, but there are other cases where people generalize. They don’t states allow children to have driver’s licenses? Because they have somehow determined that children are not mature enough to drive cars, not matter how wise or mature a particular child is. I believe that to NEVER judge or discriminate is foolhardy and dangerous.
Is this another way of saying stereotypes are convenient? Maybe by admitting that people have a tendency to over-rely on statistical discrimination (i.e. stereotypes), we can work to overcome some of the unfair biases that result.
On the other hand, the guy with the mohawk has already revealed an error in judgment that should easily disqualify him from a receptionist job at a law firm.
I agree. We all do it, whether or not we like to admit it. Judging a person based on his/her appearance and mannerisms is the cheapest, easiest way to navigate this old world of ours.
There’s a book about architecture called “Learning from Las Vegas” that talks about how we learn to read the visual landscape via signs. So, seeing a sign for Taco Bell makes us instantly remember when their menu is like and whether or not we care for their food. We know exactly what to expect because we know what the sign means.
We do the same thing with people. People wear clothes and styles as visual cues to project an image that they want to personify. Why shouldn’t we pay attention?
If discrimination is not OK, then neither are racial and gender quotas or affirmative action.
I routinely discriminate against cars on the highway with “Obama ’08” bumper stickers.