Declining Significance of Race, the

Historical Evolution

According to William Julius Wilson, author of The Declining Significance of Race, orthodox Marxist theory is applicable to the Preindustrial period, which was characterized by plantation slavery. Edna Bonacich's split labor market theory is applicable to the Industrial Period, which was characterized by the institutions of Jim Crow in the South and de facto segregation in the North. Neither theory is applicable to the Modern Industrial period. In the Preindustrial and Industrial periods, racial inequality can be seen as emerging directly from the social relations of production. The government protected and legitimated racial inequality during this time.

In the Modern Industrial period, various changes invalidated earlier theories. For example, legislation passed during the New Deal prevented employers from undercutting the White labor force by hiring cheaper Black labor. Acting autonomously from the economy and responding to the demand for civil rights, the government removed racial restrictions in the labor market, including discriminatory barriers imposed by state and local authorities. Today, neither the secondary sector nor the primary and government sectors of the labor market provide the basis for the interracial competition and conflict that characterized the previous periods.

Formally stated, the declining significance model holds that structural changes in the economy and political changes in the government contributed to a process where race gradually lost its importance in determining socioeconomic status attainments in the United States. However, in the sociopolitical order, racial competition persists. Here, the have-nots, both Black and White, struggle over access to and control of schools, neighborhoods, and politicians.

These changes produced a segmented labor market in which poorly trained and educated Blacks in the inner city (especially teenagers and young adults) see their job prospects restricted increasingly to the secondary and informal sectors; unemployment rates soar, potential movement out of poverty slows, and welfare rolls increase as a consequence of deindustri-alization and disinvestment. On the other hand, as a consequence of affirmative action programs, vigorous recruitment by major corporations, and the expansion of government employment in housing, welfare, medical care, and criminal justice, highly trained and educated Blacks are experiencing unprecedented job opportunities. Therefore, the Black experience has moved from the historical racial oppression experienced by all Blacks to economic subordination for the Black lower classes. The recent mobility patterns of Blacks lend support to the view that social class is more important than race today in determining occupational placement and future earnings.

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