Thomas Sowell’s Ethnic America (New York: Basic Books, 1981) remains the most profound and provocative conservative response to the liberal view of ethnicity and race. In his introduction, Sowell provides a chart which ranks ethnic groups in terms of average family incomes (p.5) Average is 100, but several ethnic groups exceed the average:
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Jewish 172
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Japanese 132
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Polish 115
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Chinese 112
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Italian 112
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German 107
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Anglo-Saxon 107
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Irish 103
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Other groups do not fare as well:
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Filipino 99
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West Indian 94
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Mexican 76
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Puerto Rican 63
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Black 62
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Native American 60
Liberals, Sowell explicitly and implicitly asserts throughout the book, believe these differences are due solely to discrimination. But, Sowell wonders, how can this be if several ethnic groups which have experienced discrimination rank above and even far above the U.S. median income?
The reason, Sowell claims, is something which in his other books he calls cultural capital. Cultural capital includes a strong work ethic, a stable family structure, and a propensity to save and invest rather than to consume. But cultural capital also involves an understanding of the four paths to the upper middle class and above.
The first of these paths is politics, especially urban politics. This involves electing members of your ethnic group to offices, such as mayor, that can provide access to government jobs in police and fire departments, schools, and municipal services. Irish-Americans have historically excelled in this area, while African-Americans have been using this path since the 1960’s. Political jobs offer security and good benefits, but they are seldom very remunerative.
Business ownership may be more risky, but the potential benefits greatly outweigh the costs. High percentages of Jews, Japanese, and Chinese have excelled here, although Sowell is well aware that members of all ethnic groups have succeeded in business.
Higher education, the third area, is perhaps the most dependable path to success. Again it is the Jews and the Asian-Americans who have excelled the most here. Both Sowell’s supporters and his critics call these groups the “model minorities,” a term which Sowell himself does not use in print!
There is a fourth area - sports, music, and entertainment. Here the results can be spectacular, but the odds for success are not good. Often this is the area first available to ethnic Americans. Sowell knows this, but he issues a caveat anyway. Put your eggs in this basket, he is saying, and most likely they will break. Sowell is clearly delivering a message to members of his own ethnic group - African-Americans.
By now Sowell’s argument is clear: the liberals are wrong. All ethnic groups have faced discrimination - some more than others- Sowell acknowledges, but it is really cultural capital which accounts for the income differences among ethnic groups. Sowell clearly suggest entrepreneurship and higher education are the best paths to success. It is not surprising that he sees reliance on the federal government as the worst of the legal paths to success. While he in no way supports discrimination, he believes that pooling resources with members of your own family and ethnic group is a better way of starting a business than going to court and claiming you were denied a loan due to your ethnic or racial background. Even better, start your own bank within your own ethnic group. Eventually you can start your own country clubs if the WASP country clubs will not accept you.
Naturally liberals find Sowell’s ideas anathema. While most liberal would not quibble with the importance of cultural capital, liberals believe European and Asian ethnic groups have faced far less discrimination than other ethnic Americans. Assertive affirmative action policies and strong federal government action, liberals believe, are necessary to assure ethnic equality.
