Victim Mentality PDF

Were(Nearly)AllVictimsNow!
Were(Nearly)AllVictimsNow!
Howpoliticalcorrectnessis
underminingourliberalculture
DavidG.Green
Civitas:InstitutefortheStudyofCivilSociety
London
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FirstPublishedOctober2006
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Contents
Author
Preface
Introduction
1Whymodernvictimhoodisnotcompatible
withliberalism
2Impactondemocracy
3Victimstatusandlegalequality
4Conclusions
Notes
Page
vi
vii
1
9
30
45
73
79
Author
DavidG.GreenistheDirectorofCivitas.Hisbooksinclude
The New Right: The Counter Revolution in Political, Economic
and Social Thought, Wheatsheaf, 1987; Reinventing Civil
Society, IEA, 1993; Community Without Politics: A Market
ApproachtoWelfareReform,IEA1996;BenefitDependency:How
WelfareUnderminesIndependence,IEA,1999;Delay,Denialand
Dilution, IEA, 1999 (with Laura Casper); Stakeholder Health
Insurance, Civitas, 2000; Health Care in France and Germany:
LessonsfortheUK,Civitas2001(withBenIrvine);Crimeand
Civil Society, Civitas 2005 (with Emma Grove and Nadia
Martin). He wrote the chapter on The NeoLiberal
Perspective in Blackwells The Students Companion to Social
Policy,(2ndedn)2003.
He writes occasionally for newspapers, including in
recent years pieces in the Guardian (on health reform), The
Times(onrace,NHSreformandcrime),theSundayTelegraph
(on crime and victim culture) and the Daily Telegraph (on
crime,immigrationandwelfarereform).
vi
Preface
We have all noticed that terms such as racism, sexism,

ageism, disablism, Islamophobia, and homophobia have
become commonplace in public discussion. Like most
people I have occasionally laughed at some of the more
absurd uses of this language, but in recent years the
politicallyrecognised victim status described by this list of
isms and phobias has begun to do lasting harm to our
liberal culture. Moreover, the officially protected victim
groups are no longer in the minority but add up to 73 per
centofthepopulation.
Many were surprised to learn in June 2006 that the law
now considers the murder of a gay man as a more serious
crime than the murder of someone who is not gay. The
murderers of Jody Dobrowski on Clapham Common were
given 28 years when, according to the judge, if they had
voiced no hostility towards the victims sexuality, the
sentence would have been halved. The case sparked some
media comment. Was it really worse than the murder of
medical student, Daniel Pollen, in Romford, Essex in July
2005akillingthatwascapturedonCCTVandappearedto
be without obvious motive? The judge thought so in June
2006,and the starting point forcalculating the sentenceof
Daniel Pollens killer will be only 15 years. Is animosity to
gays a worse motive than, for example, a calculated killing
to silence a witnessperhaps when a rapist murders his
femalevictimtopreventhergivingevidence?Orisitworse
thanadrivebyshootingthattakesinnocentlifeatrandom?
Singling out groups for special protection has had the
inevitableconsequence that others have begun to ask Why
not us too? Initially race was the only protected category
whenthe1998CrimeandDisorderActcreatedhatecrime,
but Muslim leaders complained and religion was soon
added. Then pressure groups representing disabled people,
vii
WERE(NEARLY)ALLVICTIMSNOW!
aswellasgaysandlesbians,demandedtobeincluded.The
Government quickly agreed. Special legal status has now
been given to four groups, and harsher penalties are
available for crimes committed against individuals because
of their sexual orientation, race, religion or a disability. But
whystopatfour?TheCommissionforEqualityandHuman
Rights(CEHR),whenitbeginsitsworkin2007,willprotect
the same four groups plus two others, defined by gender
and age. If the CEHR demands that crimes against women
should also be officially classified as hate crimes, what
intellectuallycoherentcasecouldbemadeagainstit?Andif
membersofAgeConcerncalledforoldpeopletobeadded
to the list, what arguments could be used against them?
Sooner or later, with only a minority of people outside the
protected groups, we might ask ourselves whatwas wrong
withthelawbefore1998?Isitnotmoreconsistentwithour
traditionoflegalequalitytobelievethattomurderorassault
anyone, whoever they are, regardless of the group they
identifywith,isequallywrong?
Wemightgofurtherandaskourselveswhetherwehave
fallen into the trap that George Orwell warned about in
Animal Farmthe corruption of the ideal of equality by
power?Initiallythesevencommandmentsonthefarmwall
included All animals are equal. Later, the wall was
repainted overnight leaving only one commandment: All
animals are equal, but some animals are more equal than
others.
Someotherepisodesseemtofitthepattern.Groupswho
have been politically recognised as victims are starting to
usetheirpowertosilencepeoplewhohavehadthecheekto
criticise them. A phone call to the police by victim activists
has led to people who have made perfectly reasonable
contributions to public debate being warned off. Lynette
Burrows, for example, argued that gay adoption was more
viii
PREFACE
risky for children than adoption by a married couple, and

was questioned by the police. And so too was Sir Iqbal
Sacraniewho,whileleaderoftheMuslimCouncilofBritain,
voicedthedisapprovalofhisreligionforhomosexuality.We
mayagreeordisagreewiththesecommentators,butifpolice
power can be used to silence critics, have the victims
becoming the aggressors, as Orwell warned? These are
amongthequestionsthisshortbooktriestoanswer.
IamverygratefultoCivitasresearcher,NickSeddon,for
his assistance with chapter 3 and toNorman Dennis, Justin
ShawandKenMinoguefortheirinvaluablecommentsonall
thechapters.
DavidG.Green
ix
Introduction
To be a victim is to be harmed by an external event or

oppressed by someone else, things that most people avoid
whereverpossible.YetastrikingfeatureofmodernBritainis
that many people want to be classified as victims. They do
sobecauseoftheadvantagesitbrings.Victimhoodmakesit
possible to demand special protection in the workplace not
available toother employees. It makes it possible to benefit
from quotas, like the targets that require government
departments to ensure that a defined percentage of public
servantsarefromethnicminorities.Anditmaybepossible
todemandthatpolicepowersareusedagainstpeoplewho
criticiseyou.
Thewordvictimstillretainsitsoldmeaning,andvictims
still inspire ordinary sympathy from kindly people. But
today to be classified as a victim is to be given a special
politicalstatus,whichhasnonecessaryconnectionwithreal
hardship or actual oppression. Victimhood as a political
status is best understood as the outcome of a political
strategy by some groups aimed at gaining preferential
treatment. In free societies groups often organise to gain
advantages for themselves, but the increase in the number
and power of groups seeking politicallymandated victim
hood raises some deeper questions, as subsequent chapters
will explain. Group victimhood is not compatible with our
heritage of liberal democracy in three particular ways: it is
inconsistent with the moral equality that underpins
liberalism; it weakens our democratic culture; and it
undermineslegalequality.
First, the rise of victimhood as a strategy for gaining
political powerthat is, gaining control of the coercive
apparatus of the stateis incompatible with Britains herit
age of liberalism. Why? Because it treats group identity
basedonbirth,especiallyracialidentity,asmoreimportant
1
than individual characteristics. This cuts into the foun

dations of liberalism, which seeks to release the best in
individualsbyfreeingthemfromtheconstraintsthatmight
be imposed by their origins. Among the basic building
blocks of liberalism is the idea that individuals should be
judgedbythepersonalqualitiestheycanchangeandnotby
thecharacteristicsascribedtothembyanyaccidentofbirth.
To make assumptions about individuals based purely on
ascribed characteristics such as parentage or race is to be
prejudiced.Liberalismhasinsistedthatindividualscanrise
above their circumstances. They can change, improve, or
grow in skill and understanding. Consequently to attach
paramountimportancetoascribedcharacteristicstodayisto
reverse hundreds of years of progress in triumphing over
prejudice. The result has been to undermine a central
componentofliberalism:thesenseofpersonalresponsibility
founded on moral equality, on which a free society relies.
Thisconcernisthesubjectofchapter1.
Second, as chapter 2 discusses, the quest for preferential
status has had a harmful effect on our democratic process
and the political culture that nurtures it. In any democratic
system there is a tension between two tendencies: majori
tarian democracy and deliberative democracy. At its best
oursystemisdeliberative.Policiesaremade,notbygaining
power and forcing decisions through, but by open debate
that relies on modifying the opinions of others through the
mutual learning that may emerge from listening and
reflecting before deciding, a view classically expressed by
Milton in Areopagitica: Let [Truth] and falsehood grapple;
who ever knew Truth put to the worse, in a free and open
encounter? 1
Victim groups encourage a majoritarian view, which
emphasises gaining advantage at the expense of others
through theuse of the coercive powers of the state. Weare
2
INTRODUCTION
used to interest groups pressing their case as part of a

democratic process that allows opposing views to be
accommodated through reasoned discussion and com
promise.Butmodernvictimgroupscreateentrenchedsocial
divisionsbydefiningopponentsasoppressorswhonotonly
must be defeated by the state, but silenced by the state. It
weakens the toleration and giveandtake that have been
central to our political culture, and even encourages
aggression. The underlying assumption of the growing
cultureofvictimhoodhasbeenthatonegroupisthevictim
andanotheristheoppressor:womenarethevictimsofmale
discrimination; ethnic minorities of white discrimination;
and disabled people of discrimination at the hands of the
nondisabled. In each of these cases there is a commission
with coercive powers to protect the victims: the Equal
Opportunities Commission, the Commission for Racial
Equality and the Disability Rights Commission. Moreover,
victimstatuscaninsulateagroupfromcriticismthatwould
apply to anyone else. It does so by implying that all critics
must be oppressors. The pseudopsychiatric term Islamo
phobia, for example, suggests not simply that every
criticismofMuslimsismotivatedbyunreasonablyexagger
ated fear or hostility. It is a statement that any criticism of
Muslims is evidence of clinical pathology. Yet, the label
Islamophobic is often attached to valid criticisms of
particular Muslims whose behaviourhas laid them open to
legitimatecensure.
Third,aschapter3considers,legalequalityhasalsobeen
undermined,intwosenses.Thecreationofhatecrimeshas
weakened police and judicial impartiality. Some crimes are
punishedmoreseverelywhentheyareraciallyorreligiously
aggravated, thus treating the same crime as more serious
when committed against a member of an ethnic minority
than when it is committed against a white person. Second,
3
antidiscrimination laws have been gradually transformed

so that they are no longer confined to prohibiting
discrimination against individuals because of their group
membership; on the contrary, they facilitate and even call
for, preferential treatment of people defined by their group
identity.
Themosttroublingconsequenceoftheemergenceofrule
by victim groupsvictimocracyis that we have become
confused about the core elements of our own liberal
democratic culture. As a result, we have become weak
defendersofourownpreciousheritageoffreedom.Funda
mental debates about moral equality, freedom and demo
cracy have become confused in a fog of concern about
avoiding offence even (perhaps most of all) to people who
threaten us with violence. We are exhorted as individuals
not only to show, but emotionally to feel, equal respect for
boththecorebeliefsofliberalismandforrivalideasthatare
notcompatiblewithafreesociety,eventhosethatexplicitly
demand its destruction. These concerns are explained more
fully in later chapters, but first lets look at the scale of the
problem.
Thescale
The number of protected groups is multiplying and the
sheer scale has become a problem in itself. As time passes,
there are fewer people left who are unable to claim victim
status. From 2007, the government intends to establish a
Commission for Equality and Human Rights (CEHR) that
will protect six groups: the traditional three, plus those
definedbysexualorientation,age,andreligionorbelief.In
doingso,itcontinuesaprocessbegunin1965,withtheRace
RelationsAct,whichledtotheRaceRelationsBoardin1966,
later transformed into the Commission for Racial Equality
(CRE). The next landmark was the Equal Pay Act 1970,
4
INTRODUCTION
whichcameintoforcein1975,whentheSexDiscrimination
Actalsobecamelaw.TheEqualOpportunitiesCommission
(EOC) was established in 1975. Twenty years then elapsed
before the Disability Discrimination Act of 1995, but it was
notuntil2000thattheDisabilityRightsCommission(DRC)
was founded. The Equality Act 2006established the CEHR,
whichstartsworkinOctober2007andincludestheworkof
theDRCandEOCfromthatdate.Itwilltakeoverthework
oftheCREbytheendofMarch2009.
Howmanyvictims?
Twocalculationshavebeenmade:onebasedontheclaimof
some victim groups that they are subject to multiple
discrimination (which has the paradoxical result that the
total number of victims exceeds 100 per cent of the
population)andonethatavoidsoverlap.
Countingonlythesixofficialprotectedgroupswereach
about 73 per cent per cent of the total population of the
country,asTable1shows.Thelargestgroupiswomen,who
make up 51 per cent of the population. The 2001 Census
foundthatethnicminoritiesmakeupabouteightpercentof
thepopulationintotalandthatmalescompriseabouthalfof
all ethnic minority persons, or about four per cent of the
total population. According to the Disability Rights
Commission 48 per cent of disabled people of working age
arefemaleand19percentofthepopulationofworkingage
aredisabled. 2 Overall,theDRCclaimsthat22percentofthe
population are disabled and, assuming half are female, we
needtoadd11percent.
The other three categories are a little more difficult to
calculate.Eighteenpercentofthepopulationarepensioners,
butthewhitepaperontheCEHRalsodescribesthoseaged
5564 as subject to discrimination in the workplace.
Moreover, it considers that people aged 1624 can be
5
disadvantagedinthelabourmarketbecauseofassumptions
abouttheirlackofabilityandexperience. 3 However,Ihave
only counted pensioners. In 2003 there were about 4.038
million males of pension age, some 6.8 per cent of the UK
population. A further adjustment to avoid double counting
ethnic minority males of pension age produces an estimate
of 6.2 per cent of the total population, and a further
adjustmenttoavoiddoublecountingdisabledpeopleleaves
4.8percent. 4
Table1
Membersofvictimhoodgroupsasapercentageoftotal
population,adjustedforoverlaps
Femalegender
51
Ethnicminoritymales
Disabledmales(lessethnicminorities)
11
Malepensioners(lessethnicminoritiesanddisabled)
Gaymales(lessethnicminorities,disabledandpensioners)
GrandTotal
73
Religion and belief are also not straightforward. Nearly

72percentofpeoplesaidtheywereChristianatthetimeof
the2001Censusand5.4percentbelongedtononChristian
faiths.Strictlyspeaking,legalprotection,appliestoallfaiths,
and the term Christianophobia recently put in an appear
ance,butitwouldbestretchingcredulitytodeclarethat72
percentofthepopulationwerevictimsmerelybecausethey
putCofEontheircensusform.Assumingthathalfthenon
Christians are males produces an estimate of 2.7 per cent,
butmostarefromethnicminoritiesandsoIhavemadeno
additionforreligion.
TherearenoofficialestimatesofgaysandlesbiansandI
havebasedtheestimateoffivepercentonthelargestsurvey
so far carried out in the UK, by the Wellcome Foundation,
6
INTRODUCTION
publishedin1994andbasedonasampleof20,000people. 5
ToavoiddoublecountingIhaveassumedthathalfaremale
(2.5 per cent) and made further reductions to avoid double
countingethnicminorities,disabledpeopleandpensioners,
leavingtwopercent.
Allowingformultiplediscrimination
If we take seriously the claim of some victim groups that
theyencountermultiplediscrimination,thetotalnumberof
victimsaddsupto109percentofthetotalpopulationofthe
country. This counterintuitive result reflects the rise of
identities that allow many people to claim to be victims
several times over. Stonewall, for example, claims on its
websitethataBlackgaymanmightexperiencehomophobia
frompartsoftheBlackcommunity,racismfromsomeparts
of the gay community, and both racism and homophobia
fromeveryoneelse! 6
Table2
Membersofvictimhoodgroupsasapercentageoftotal
population,adjustedformultiplediscrimination
Femalegender
51
Ethnicminority
Disabled
22
NonChristian
Elderly
18
Gayorlesbian
5
109
GrandTotal
How was the estimate of 109 per cent reached? 51 per

cent of the population are women and ethnic minorities
make up another eight per cent, according to the 2001
Census, and some 22 per cent of the population of Great
7
Britain are said to be disabled. 7 Eighteen per cent of the

population are pensioners. And at the time of the 2001
CensusaboutfivepercentbelongedtononChristianfaiths.
Asimilarproportionweregaysandlesbians.
Whymodernvictimhoodisnot
compatiblewithliberalism
OurTraditionofLiberalism
Britain is a liberal democracy and, despite challenges, its
guiding philosophy since the seventeenth century has been
liberalism. Admittedly the term liberalism is somewhat
ambiguous, but there is no better alternative. John Locke
encapsulatedtheessentialideasin1689.Hisidealmightbe
called homeland liberty, because it is based on the
assumption that a free people living in a particular land
have come together to frame a system of government for
themselves. Locke used the word commonwealth to
describe such an independent community of people: By
commonwealth,Imustbeunderstoodallalongtomean,nota
democracy,oranyformofgovernment,butanyindependent
community. 1
LockedescribedtheessenceoftheEnglishheritageoflaw
andhowitdifferedfromthemoreauthoritarianContinental
tradition. We should have a standing rule to live by,
common to every one of that society which meant, A
liberty to follow my own will in all things, where the rule
prescribes not; and not to be subject to the inconstant,
uncertain,unknown,arbitrarywillofanotherman. 2 English
law,inotherwords,wasamethodnotonlyofexercisingthe
power of the state, but also of excluding the state from
variousareasofsociallifeofprotectingourrighttouseour
energy, resources and time to improve our own lives and
our shared institutions as we thought best. The law
providedaclearwarningwhenforcecouldbeusedagainst
usand otherwise left us free. The tradition that has
9
typicallyprevailedontheContinentisverydifferent.Lawis
notadeviceforprotectingthelibertyoftheindividual,but
rather a weapon in the hands of the authorities to enforce
theirwill. 3
Lockeremindsusoftheultimatereasonforvaluingfree
dom. It is not so much that it has helped to make us
prosperousbut,aboveall,becauseithasinstitutionalisedthe
moral equality of individuals. In our natural (by which he
meantGodgiven,ratherthanpresocial)state,hesaid,there
was equality, wherein all the power and jurisdiction is
reciprocal, no one having more than another. 4 All
individualsweremoralequalsinthesamesensethatallare
equal in the sight of God. If all were to come face to face
with their Maker at the end of their lives, they must be
allowed to take personal responsibility for choosing fact
fromerrorandrightfromwrong.Consequently,theremust
be freedom of study, thought, discussion, conscience and
action. And government should, therefore, be based on
consent.
At the beginning of the twentyfirst century, hostility to
homelandlibertycomesfromthreetypesofcollectivism:the
first might be called patriotic collectivism, the second
cosmopolitanandthethirdsectarian.
Patrioticcollectivism
The first variety of collectivism reflects the traditional
animosity of authoritarians towards liberty. They want to
putnoseriouslimitsonwhatthegovernmentcando,sothat
the hands of the authorities are not tied as they go about
their purposes. Collectivism appeals to two main types of
people: those who imagine they will be leaders, issuing
instructions that are invariably said to be for the greater
good;andthosewhoarecontenttobeledsometimesonly
toogladtogivetheirvotestoleaderswhopromisetorelease
10
WHYMODERNVICTIMHOODISNOTCOMPATIBLEWITHLIBERALISM
themfromallthemaincaresandresponsibilitiesofmodern
life. Much welfare spending, for instance, is calculated to
appealtothisgroup.
Collectivists make very different assumptions from
liberals about what people are like and how a society is
united. For collectivists, individual character and conduct
are determined by social and economic conditions. Strictly
speaking,deterministictheoriesimplythatfutureeventsare
inescapable,butinpracticemoderndeterministsbelievethat
a few leaders can rise above economic and social forces.
Societies are united, therefore, under the command of
leaderswhoseethingsmoreclearlythanthemasses.
Theliberalviewisthatpeoplearemoralagents,capable
ofexercisingpersonalresponsibility.Theyareunited,notby
leaders but by shared beliefs and commitments and their
attachmenttoapoliticalsystembasedonequalityunderthe
law.Theirsisthesocialsolidarityofpeoplewhoexpectalot
ofoneanotherandwhodemandmuchofthemselves.
Collectivistsusuallyputforwardawellestablishedlistof
criticisms.Themostcommoninvolveidentifyingthemselves
with the public good and liberals with its opposite. These
claims boil down to three main assertions: liberals favour
atomised individualism; liberals ignore the common good;
andliberalsfavourunfetteredselfishnessoregoism.Allcan
berebutted.
Socialatomisationwasnotdefendedbyanymainstream
liberal, such as Locke, Hume or Smith. How did the
misunderstanding arise? Liberals were critics of the social
order of their day, which was aristocratic and hierarchical.
For them, in law and politics, people should be treated on
their individual merits, not according to their birth. They
especiallyobjectedtotheideaofinheritedsocialsuperiority.
In that sense they were individualists, but their
individualism took the form of belief in equality before the
11
law, a social invention. They knew only too well that

shared beliefs and institutions were the bedrock of society.
Justice, saidAdam Smith was the main pillar that upholds
the whole edifice, 5 but people should also seek to do right
according to conscience: That the sense of duty should be
thesoleprincipleofourconduct,isnowherethepreceptof
Christianity; but that it should be the ruling and the
governing one, as philosophy, and as, indeed, common
sense, directs. 6 These were not the words of someone who
thoughtthatweareallisolatedindividuals.Onthecontrary,
thelibertyoftheindividualguidedbyconsciencewasseen
asapreconditionformutuallybeneficialsocialinteraction.
Liberal individualism was from the outset a theory of the
individual in society: The liberty of man, in society, said
Locke,wastobeundernootherlegislativepower,butthat
established,byconsent. 7
Were liberals indifferent to the common good? Locke
repeatedlyusesthetermsthecommongoodandthepublic
goodthroughouttheSecondTreatiseofGovernment.Itistrue
that he was suspicious of those who pretended to desire the
common good, as was Adam Smith, but that was an
objectiontopretence,notthereality.Theearlyliberalswere
suspicious of those who wanted to impose religious
orthodoxyallegedlyforthecommongood,butthoughtthat
justiceandfreeenquiryweregenuinepublicgoods. 8
Did liberals celebrate selfishness and look down on
public altruism? Again, liberals were very far from
celebrating untrammelled egoism. Blackstone, for example,
writingaboutselfdefence,saidthatthepublicpeacewasa
superior consideration to any one mans private property.
Moreover, if private force were permitted as a remedy for
private injuries, all social justice must cease, because the
strong would rule over the weak. 9 Lockes use of the term
property has given rise to the suspicion that he favoured
12
propertyabovepeople,butheusesthetermtorefertothe
livesandlibertiesofindividuals.Inthelanguageofthetime,
slaves were said to lack property in themselves. Far from
celebrating egoism, Locke thought that Selflove will make
men partial to themselves and their Friends. Moreover, ill
Nature, Passion and Revenge will carry them too far in
punishing others. Government was necessary to restrain
thepartialityandviolenceofmen. 10 Libertywastherightto
do everything not prohibited by law, not the right to do
anything whatsoever. As Locke famously insisted, liberty
was not a state of licence. 11 Adam Smith left no room for
doubtabouthisownhopes:
tofeelmuchforothers,andlittleforourselves,thattorestrainour
selfish, and to indulge our benevolent, affections, constitutes the
perfection of human nature; and can alone produce among
mankind that harmony of sentiments and passions in which
consiststheirwholegraceandpropriety. 12
But why have I called the collectivists who advanced

thesecriticismsofliberalismpatriotic?Beforeansweringthat
question, I need to explain what I mean by the two rival
brandsofcollectivism,cosmopolitanandsectarian. 13
Cosmopolitancollectivism
Themaininspirationforcosmopolitancollectivismisdisap
proval of nationalism. For cosmopolitan collectivists,
nationalism is synonymous with aggression towards
foreigners.Suchcriticswantnationstatestobereplacedby
supranationalinstitutions,whichtheycontendwillbemore
likely to encourage peace. Today, the utopian inter
nationalismofthecosmopolitancollectivistsattachesitselfto
theUnitedNationsandtheEuropeanUnion.
But, as many writers have shown, there is no necessary
connection between a legitimate love of the culture and
beliefs of a particular country and aggression towards
foreigners. George Orwell famously distinguished between
13
love of country (patriotism) and hostility towards other

nations (nationalism). More recently, philosophers such as
David Miller of the University of Oxford have tried to
restorethelegitimacyofrespectfornationalitythebeliefs
andinstitutionsthatweholdincommonandwhichworkto
the advantage of all. 14 In any event, there is no guarantee
that a nation that surrenders some of its capacity for self
governmenttoasupranationalagencywillbelesslikelyto
engage in war than one that retains the ability to make its
ownlaws.
Sectariancollectivism
The third fundamental critique of homeland liberty,
sectarian collectivismthe topic of this bookis based on
identity politics. According to sectarian collectivists, all
hithertoexistingsocietieshavebeendividedbetweenvictim
and oppressor groups. Ideas such as impartial law or the
common good are smokescreens created to conceal the
power of oppressor groups. Some groups recognise them
selves to be victims. Other groups suffer from a false
consciousnessofwellbeingandjustice.Intheircase,better
informed sympathisers have to point out to them that they
areoppressedandexploited.
Sectariancollectivismdoesnotconsistmerelyinforming
groups to press for improvements or the redress of
grievances; rather it demands political recognition for
permanent victim status, entitling groups to special pro
tection or preferential treatment by deploying the coercive
meansofthestate.
Becausetheirstatusisbasedongroupmembership,and
because of the assumption that the politically salient
characteristics of members are the same, absurdities and
contradictions frequently arise for the reason that group
members are not in reality all the same. For example, all
members of ethnic minority groups that have successfully
14
establishedtheirstatesupportedvictimhoodaretakentobe
victims and their oppressors are assumed to be whites. In
reality, many successful and wealthy members of an ethnic
minority can be much better off than many of the white
peoplewhoareoppressingthem.
Multiculturalism is one of the variants of sectarian
collectivism,oridentitypolitics.Theunderlyingideaisthat
all the cultural beliefs and practices associated with ethnic
groupsmustbegivenequalstandingwiththoseofthehost
community, even if they are illiberal or incompatible with
each other and with the culture of the host society. For
example, demands are currently being made for political
recognitionofpersonalSharialaw,sothatMuslimmenwith
uptofourwivescanhavetheirtaxstatusrecognisedbyHer
MajestysRevenueandCustoms.
Theunderlyingproblemistreatinggroupmembershipas
the basis for political status. Historically, homeland liberty
has been based on individuals. As we have seen, this does
not mean isolated individuals, but it does mean that each
personisinonesensealoneasamoralequal.Originallythis
ideaderivedfromtheChristianviewthatallarethechildren
ofGodandwouldonedaybejudged.Eachperson,whether
richorpoor,thereforefacedanobligationtoleadagoodlife.
This assumption of moral equality became a powerful
argumentagainstslavery,butalsoagainsttheoriesattaching
importance to fixed or ascribed social status. Liberalism
from the time of Milton and Locke held that, regardless of
the circumstances into which people are born, all must be
freetoleadtheirlivesaccordingtotheirconscience.
Modern identity politics, however, does not treat the
individualguidedbyconscienceasthemainbuildingblock
of society, freely entering into, or (more likely) resolving to
uphold an alreadyexisting liberal order for the public
benefit. On the contrary, group membership is more
15
important than individual characteristics. And the common

good is not sought, but rather group advantage at the
expenseofothers,whoaredefinedasoppressors.
Multiculturalism can sound like a plea for pluralism.
Words, of course, change their meanings. But multi
culturalism in its current sectariancollectivist connotation
of the equal status and worth of all cultures, and the
desirability of a society being composed of many ethnic
groups, is not at all the same as pluralism in the sense
established in sociology and politics during the twentieth
century.Pluralisminthelattersensemeantthat,unlikethe
totalitarian societies of Nazism and Communism, society
was not coincident with the state. In political theory,
emphasis was placed upon a multiparty system as one of
the hallmarks of a pluralistic society. People could move
voluntarilyfrommembershipofagroupwhenitscodesand
disciplines no longer corresponded with their own beliefs,
preferences or needs. Pluralism meant that the law was
silent about the practices of all groups that were acting
within the confines of laws that allowed large scope for
variety.
Once a measure of imperfect religious toleration was
granted during the seventeenth century, for example,
Catholicscouldtaketheviewthatthebreadandwinewere
transubstantiatedintothebodyandbloodofChristwithout
fearofpersecutionandProtestantscouldtreatthemasmere
symbols. The law neither approved nor disapproved of
transubstantiationasadoctrine. 15 Beforetoleration,thelaw
had required particular beliefs to be held, with killing the
frequent result. During the sixteenth century the official
requirements changed several times in quick succession as
Henry VIII (who persecuted Catholics for heresy) was
followed by Edward VI (who whitewashed churches and
destroyedreligiousarttoeliminateCatholicidolatryashe
16
sawit),thenMaryTudor(whopersecutedProtestants)and
then Elizabeth I (who fought against both Catholics and
Protestantdissenters). 16
Our laws have invariably tried to avoid giving a seal of
approval to, much less coercive insistence on, particular
lifestyles. Our laws largely prohibit harmful practices and
otherwise leave us free. Thus, equal recognition until
recently meant being left alone by the statefor the law to
besilentonawiderangeofbeliefsandbehaviours.Identity
politics, by contrast, demands laws that bestow political
recognition on certain beliefs and that authorise their state
enforcedpreferentialtreatment.Recentdemandsforschools
to be legally obliged to allow Muslim girls to wear
traditional Islamic costume, but all other pupils to wear
schooluniform,arebutoneexample.
In the 1970s and 1980s, sectarian collectivism made
significant inroads into the hitherto patriotic collectivist
Labour party. Today, sectarian collectivism is associated
with the left in politics. Sectarian collectivismidentity
politicshad one idea in common with statists of the old
Labour party who advocated nationalisation, extensive
regulation and state welfarenamely antagonism to a
liberalsociety.Butuntilthe1970smainstreamLabourparty
members and leaders (as writers such as Norman Dennis
have argued) were patriotic statists. 17 They thought the
government should take the lead in bringing about reform
andwereinclinedtoglorifythestateasembodyingthebest
in people and to contrast the altruism of the public sector
with the selfishness of the market. But, they wanted to
change the country they lovedto build Jerusalem in
Englandsgreenandpleasantlandnottodestroyit.
Bythe1970sthepatrioticcollectivistsintheLabourparty
were losing out to elements that were antagonistic to the
entire social order. The Trotskyites, an identifiable and
17
familiar group wedded to the violent revolution of the

international working class, achieved notoriety in the late
1960sandinthe1970sand1980s.Theirinfluencecontinued
to grow in the Labour party until they were confronted by
Labour leader Neil Kinnock from the mid1980s onwards.
Their strategy was essentially to inflame any dispute in
ordertoexposewhattheysawasthehypocrisyofbourgeois
society, or liberaldemocracy as I have been calling it.
Although much weakened by the 1990s, Trotskyites were
still able to score occasional victories. Imran Khan, the
solicitorrepresentingtheLawrencefamilybeforeandduring
the Macpherson inquiry, for example, stood as a candidate
for Arthur Scargills avowedly Trotskyite Socialist Labour
Partyatthe1997GeneralElection. 18
Other beliefs, noless hostile to the established liberal
order, also took root in the 1970s and 1980s, especially
identity politics that went wider than (and sometimes
ignored altogether) the identity politics of workingclass
solidarity. Because the aim was to use political power to
impose particular beliefs hostile to liberalism, it is properly
understoodasavarietyofcollectivism,butitwasadivisive
brand of statism, aiming to use government power to
advantage one group over another. Like Marxists before
them,thesepostmodernistsinterpretedsocietyasdivided
between oppressors and victims. But the victims and
oppressors were no longer the nonaffluent proletarian on
theonehandandthecapitalist,ontheother:theywereblack
versus white; woman versus man; disabled versus able
bodied;gayversusstraight.
During the 1960s and 1970s Herbert Marcuse was the
mostinfluentialvoice,perhapsdisplacednowontheshelves
of university libraries by Michel Foucault. Many of these
precursorsofpostmodernismwereMarxists,fromGramsci
onwards, who were trying to understand why the western
18
white proletariat had failed to fulfil the revolutionary

mission ordained to it by historical necessity. Their
explanationwaspartlythattheworkershadbeenboughtoff
byriches,butaboveall,thattheyhadbeendeceivedbythe
false consciousness their oppressors had succeeded in
inculcating into them. Behind the faade of freedom and
prosperitywastherealityofarulingelitewhoranthingsto
suit themselves. The task was to replace them by under
mining the system through which they maintained control.
The capitalists control of the means of material production
hadnot,asMarxhadthought,beendecisive.Ratherthekey
to capitalist power was control over the means of mental
productiontheeducationsystem,themassmedia,andthe
socialisation of the child within the family of lifelong
matrimony.Revolutionariesshould,therefore,takeoverthe
media, the entertainment industry, the arts and the
educationsystem.Andthebourgeoisfamilyhadtogo.Most
childrenacquiredtheirsubserviencetotherulingelitefrom
theirparents,andsotheloyaltyofmenandwomentoeach
other and their children through marriage must be
weakened. What better weapon than the possibility of sex
with many partners without the responsibility of children
(made possible by contraception) or the risk of sexual
disease(foratimenaivelyassumedtobepossiblebecauseof
antibiotics)? The first steps of the long march through the
institutions need not begin on the factory floor, but in the
bedroom. Children brought up in fatherless families would
belesssureofthemselves,lessattachedtoprevailingideas,
andconsequentlymorevulnerabletotheappealsofpolitical
activists. And if, in addition, their schools taught them that
all ideas are of equal worth, because we have no way of
judgingthegoodfromthebad,thenyoungpeoplewouldbe
farmoreeasilymanipulatedbythenewelitistswhowanted
19
to replace the old rulers.For a time these doctrines became

thereceivedwisdomoflargesectionsoftheintellectualleft.
AspartofabrilliantdeconstructionoftheMacpherson
report,NormanDennishassuccinctlyexplainedsomeofthe
key postmodernist doctrines. According to Marcuse,
revolutionaries should search for outcasts and outsiders
from the exploited and persecuted of other races and
coloursaswellasthevictimsoflawandorder(thatis,the
criminals). 19 In the view of others, such as Adorno, they
should try to free society from the domination of facts to
reveal the truth as seen only by enlightened thinkers. They
mustfightthepresenttriumphofthefactualmentality.For
liberals,factsaregreatlevellersthatcanbeusedbyanyone,
whether humble or mighty, to puncture the pretences of
elites who think they know best. Yet, many intellectuals
from the 1970s onwards were drawn towards the post
modernist critics of the factual mentality, who sought, by
banishing statistics and other empirical findings from the
argument, to make their own elitism impregnable to
criticism. As such, their theories were no more than an
excusefortheirownbrandofauthoritarianism. 20
This sectarian collectivism was sometimes closely allied
with what I have called cosmopolitan collectivism, the
doctrine of internationalists whose enthusiasm for
international agencies over national democracies leaves no
legitimateplaceforloveofcountry.(RogerScruton,turning
the table on the phobia phrasemongers, calls them oiks
people afflicted with the mental disease of oikophobia, the
pathological fear or hatred of their own home.) 21 Though
sectarian collectivism and cosmopolitan collectivism are
otherwise distinctly different from one another, they are
unitedintheirhostilitytowardspatriotism.
The Labour party is increasingly rediscovering the
patriotic collectivism of the postwar Labour government.
20
ThisistheheritagewithwhichGordonBrowninparticular
seems to identify. Mr Blairs philosophy owes more to
cosmopolitancollectivism,hencehissupportfortheHuman
Rights Act, which treats national citizenship as of little
relevance,andhispassionfortheEuropeanUnion.
Tosumup:theEnglishheritageoflibertyisbasedonthe
ideaofanindependentcommunityofpeopleunderstoodas
akindofmembershipassociationthathasfoundedasystem
of selfgovernment to protect personal security, encourage
open and representative government, and provide for
individual liberty under the law. Personal security is
providedbyassigningthegovernmentamonopolyofforce,
which must be deployed according to law understood in a
particular sense. There is to be a government of laws, not
politicians to prevent the arbitrary use of power; and the
lawmustapplyequallytoall,topreventfavouritism.Open
and democratic government is to be accomplished, not
through majoritarian democracy, which implied enforcing
fixed opinions, but by encouraging deliberative
democracylistening and reflecting before deciding.
Individual liberty means being free to do anything not
expressly prohibited by law, including the enjoyment of
freedom of expressionand a fortiori the enjoyment of
freedom of thought and attitude; the freedom to form, join
and leave associations without the permission of state
officials; and the right to leave the country and to move
freelywithinit.
Sectarian collectivism puts no limits on potential uses of
state power and is, therefore, incompatible with the rule of
law. Moreover, it undermines equality before the law by
supporting (as chapter 3 shows) legal reforms that have
increasedpenaltiesforhatecrimeandcreatedethnicquotas
forpublicsectorrecruitment.
21
Victimhoodisnotcompatiblewithmoralequality
Ihavealreadyarguedthatthecorevalueofliberalismisthe
moral equality of individuals. It underpins the idea of
equality before the law. Its easy enough to see why
establishing a faction to gain advantage might lead to
unfairness,butwhyclaimthatliberalismitselfisthreatened?
As some members of ethnic minorities have noted,
seeking victim status can have a harmful effect on the
victims themselves. Black American writers such as Shelby
Steele have argued that it undermines selfrespect. 22 But
liberalism has always assumed a certain type of individual
and a certain type of society. Individuals have been
perceived as capable of bearing responsibility and of being
inspiredbytheidealofmakingapositivecontributiontothe
advance of civilisation, perhaps modestly seen as doing
yourbitormoregrandlyasaimingtoemulatethegreatest
accomplishments of the human race so far. It was assumed
thateveryfacetoflifecouldbeimprovedandthatallshould
play their part. Such individuals were not victims of
circumstance, nor content to show obedience, let alone
expectedtoshowdeferencetosuperiors.Theywouldmake
theirwayusingtheirtalentstothefull,expectinghardships
and pain and hoping they would have the strength of
character to overcome them. Pilgrims Progress, first
published in 1678, and almost as widely read as the Bible
until well into the twentieth century, summed up the ideal
toaimfor.
The tendency of modern victimhood to deny personal
responsibility, however, is not the fatalism displayed by
some religions. Victims are not said to be powerless in the
faceofGodornature.Onthecontrary,theiroppressorsare
to blame for any unwelcome outcomes. Victims are never
blamedits always someone else. As many writers have
acknowledged, including Charles Murray in his impressive
22
survey of Human Accomplishment, civilisation has advanced

by individuals pushing themselves to the limitpursuing
transcendental values: truth, goodness and beautynot
wallowinginselfpityanddelightinginblamingothers.
The strong focus of liberal writers on the potential of
individuals to change draws our eye to the most
fundamentalofallthebuildingblocksofliberalism,theideal
of moral equality. It is the core value, the gut instinct, the
visceralbelief,somuchsothatweoftengetconfusedabout
how far to take it. Sometimes weight is attached to equal
outcomes when to do so contradicts moral equalitythe
latter implies being able to make our own unique
contribution and since we are all different it leads to
differentresults.Tosuppresstheseoutcomesistosuppress
individuality.
A desire to sympathise with victims has also led us
astray, particularly by encouraging a flight from personal
responsibility. Victim status is closely allied with the
medicalisation of life. Conditions like stress have been re
interpretedasstatesofmindthatcanonlybeovercomewith
experttherapyorcounselling.Buttheyarefurtherexamples
oftheescapefrompersonalresponsibility.Anotherexample
isposttraumaticstresssyndrome,previouslyunderstoodas
being upset after a serious incident like an accident. This
condition too can only be resolved with help from highly
trainedcounsellors,thoughfinancialcompensationhelps.
Theresultofthisattitudeisthatgenuinevictimsbecome
lessabletohandlepainorloss.Insteadofcoping,theysayto
themselves, it should not have happened. And instead of
digging deep within for strength, or sharing their problem
with a friend or relative, the victim asks, Who is to blame
andwhoshouldcompensateme?Noone,itseems,should
everhavetosacrificeanything,orstruggleagainstadversity.
23
In America in the 1970s it became common to define

black people as victims, and it was a white academic,
William Ryan, whose book Blaming the Victim, 23 first
publishedin1971,suppliedthecatchphrasestillincommon
use. The new blame the victim ideology, Ryan accepted,
was very different from the old racism. Its adherents
included sympathetic social scientists with a genuine com
mitment to reform, but they had been duped. Old racists
believedthatblacksweredefectivebecausetheywereborn
that way, but the emphasis on character and personal
responsibility was not an improvement because it still
locatedtheexplanationwithinthevictimratherthaninthe
system.
For Ryan and similar academics, to assign any
responsibility to a person was blaming the victim. All
human conduct should be explained as the outcome of
outside forcesthe system. The public policy conclusion
was that political power should be used to modify the
outsideforces.Hecitesanactivistfriendofhiswhotriedto
do everything he could to generate citizen support for the
welfarerightsmovement,includingheartbreakingstoriesof
life on welfare. To Ryans disgust, most of his listeners
seemedunabletoridthemselvesoftheingrainedbeliefthat
getting money without working for itno matter how
worthyandtouchingtherecipientmaybeisillicit,slothful
andvaguelycriminal. 24 InRyansworldview,therewasno
placeforsuchmisguidedqualmsofconscience.
Ryans argument appeals to our sympathy. Many
American blacks were mistreated. No reasonable person
couldfailtocondemnlynchingsandthesystematicdenialof
civil rights in the Deep South. But as inspirational leaders
like Gandhi and Martin Luther King showed, it is how the
victim reacts that matters most. They should not be
quiescent; they should resist injustice, but in a manner
24
compatible with a mutually respectful moral community.

They should not replace the white mans hate with their
own,butbuildabetterworldforallinordertomaintainthe
valueswhichallowdiversepeoplestolivetogetherinpeace.
MartinLutherKingsviewswerebasedonmoralprinciples
whichcouldserveasabasisforfreedom.Heappealedtothe
bestinpeople.Ryanappealedtothelowerhumaninstincts.
Moreover, in reality victims may have contributed to
their own predicament. If the remedy does, in practice, lie
withinthecontrolofthevictimthenanyobservershouldbe
free to say so. Traditionally many American blacks reacted
to their situation by hard work, good character, thrift, self
sacrifice and family loyalty. As a strategy it worked, as the
millionsofAmericanblackswhomadeittothemiddleclass
can testify, and as many black writers including Thomas
Sowell and Walter Williams have convincingly argued. It
also worked for Jews and many other ethnic groups in
America.
Wecangaingreaterinsightintoliberalismbycomparing
itwithsocietiesbasedonacombinationofIslamandatribal
or clan social structure. 25 Liberalism implies a form of
government based on the equal political status of citizens.
Moreover, a liberal democracy is made up of individuals
and voluntary associations, not clans or great families. It
creates a sphere in which individuals govern their own
actions. We each are assumed to have a political role in
addition to a nonpolitical, private or family life. Under
liberalism, religion and the state are separate, with religion
intheprivatesphere,whereasfewIslamicsocietiesseparate
the two. 26 Clan or tribal societies generally make no
distinction at all between the political and private spheres.
Equal status is also unheard of. The word of a woman, for
example, counts for half that of a man in a typical Islamic
courtoflaw.
25
Inaliberalsocietythelawcreatesaprivatespherewhere
customandmoralpressuremayholdswaybutonlyinsofar
astheyaretheviolencefreecustomandmoralpressureofa
neighbourhoodcommunity or voluntary association that
individuals are free to leave for another community or
association.Inaclanortribalsociety,however,thereisonly
one sphere of control. Law must be obeyed under both
liberal and nonliberal systems, but in a clan/tribal society
customarysocialrulescannotbeignoredeither.Inaliberal
society a person may be born a farmer and become a
scientist. There is the assumption, and to a large extent the
reality,thatindividualscanchangeandimprove.Inthepure
form of societies based on custom there is no such
possibility.Adaughterwhofloutsthewillofparentsmaybe
killed, a practice misnamed honour killing because it is
said to uphold the honour of the family. These ties have
loosenedinmanycontemporarysocieties,buttheyremaina
forcethatcannotbeignoredwithoutrisk.
As Larry Siedentop, in his neglected book Democracy in
Europe,hasargued,themainreasonwhyIslamissohostile
to Western liberalism is that it senses the presence of
Christianity behind it, a feeling that is entirely justified.
Kants universal guiding principleAct so that the rule of
yourconductcanbeadoptedbyallrationalagentswasa
secular version of the Christian injunction to love your
neighbour as yourself. 27 In Islamic societies nonbelievers
are not equal under the law. And there is no question of
loving neighbours who have left the faith. Moreover,
Christianityemphasisesconscience,whereasIslamtypically
demandssubmissionorobedience.
TheChristianclaimisontologicalallarebelievedtobe
born to exercise judgement and to be guided by their
conscience.Inequalitiesatbirthareafact,butnosuchstatus
is permanent. No one is born to rule. And no one may be
26
assumed to have superior knowledge without their claims

beingtested.Christianityhasalwaysemphasisedconscience
ratherthanmereobedience,adoctrinethatultimatelyledto
governments based on liberal constitutionalism, which
protected freedom of conscience for all. A government that
protected all sects equally was preferable to the hope that
your sect might gain control and impose its view by
persecution.BythetimeoftheGloriousRevolutionin1688,
thelessonoftheprevious150yearshadbeenthattheother
sects were just as likely to take power. For everyone to
abandon hope of being the persecutor was in the best
interests of all. As Lord Acton claimed in his classic essay
The History of Freedom in Christianity, the great
achievement of the seventeenth century was for all sects to
accept that toleration benefited everyone. The desire for
freedomofworshipwasthestrongestmotivein1688,said
Acton, and earlier struggles had taught that it was only by
limiting the power of governments that the freedom of
churchescouldbeassured.Thatgreatidea,hewrote:
teachingmentotreasurethelibertiesofothersastheirown,andto
defendthemforloveofjusticeandcharitymorethanasaclaimof
right,hasbeenthesoulofwhatisgreatandgoodintheprogressof
thelasttwohundredyears. 28
The individual freedom offered by liberalism was,

however,ademandingtaskmaster.Todorightanindividual
mustsincerelychoosetherightcourseandnotmerelyfollow
orders or comply out of fear. Slavish obedience without
thought has generally been strongly frowned on by the
Christian church. This is not to say that it is always
unacceptable for an individual to follow the authority of
churchleadersandtoholdbeliefsasamatteroffaith(thatis
withoutprooforthepossibilityofit),itisonlytoclaimthat
anindividualwhoissoinclinedshouldaccepttheauthority
27
of a bishop or adhere to a faith as a conscious individual

choice.
This claim, perhaps, requires, a little more defence. The
Christian idea of conscience is not based on the idea of the
completely autonomous individual, utterly separate from
thewidersocietywithitsinheritedcustomsandpractices.It
takesitforgrantedthatthereisamoraltraditioncontained
in the Bible and the teachings of religious leaders, which
should be taken into account by all believers. The idea of
autonomychieflymeantthatunthinkingobediencewasnot
enough. Each was expected to conduct a moral struggle in
thelightofestablishedauthority,whichwasnotfixedforall
time, but open to interpretation. But just as scientists who
hope to advance human knowledge must work with the
methods for testing hypotheses recognised by their follow
scientists,soreligiousbelieversareexpectedtoacceptpublic
testsoftruthforthetimebeing.IntheCatholicchurch,for
example,doctrinecouldchangeonlybyholdingacouncilof
bishops, but in more decentralised churches a simple
meeting of the congregation might suffice. Moreover, the
sacred text also has a different status in Christianity
compared with Islam. Under Islam, even modernist
reformers regard the Koran as the verbatim word of God,
whereasallbutahandfulofChristiansectsregardtheBible
as mans interpretation of the word of God, thus allowing
for the possibility of earlier mistakes and leaving open the
possibility of new interpretations in the light of changing
events.
Aliberalsocietypermitsgroupstoformforthepursuitof
verydifferentlives,includinglifestylesbasedonobedience,
but if membership of the group is not voluntary then its
existence is not compatible with liberalism. A liberal
constitution not only permits pluralism, it protects
individuals who pursue a particular life, perhaps of self
28
transformation. It is taken for granted that no family or

private group should be able to stop adults from following
theirownconscience.Inclansocieties,however,thereisno
private sphere in which individuals can go their own way.
There is only timehallowed custom to which obedience is
due.
Thus,liberalismprotectsindividualsfromthestateitself
andfromprivatewrongsandpressures,someofwhichmay
result from religious or ethnic solidarities. This means that
there is a limit to what private groups can do to their
members. Marriage, in particular, must be entered into
freely.Andeachmustbefreetojoinortoleavetheirgroup.
Muslims, however, are inclined to believe that people who
abandonthefaithoftheirbirthareapostateswhoshouldbe
puttodeath.
Not all the protected identities threaten liberalism to the
same extent. The variant usually called multiculturalism is
themostdangerous.Butbyemphasisingthegroupoverthe
individual, all group identities weaken respect for moral
equality and the sense of personal responsibility that goes
withit.
To summarise: freedom for groups is not the same as
freedom for individuals if the group does not respect
freedomofconscience.Moralequalityisthebeliefthatevery
individual has the potential for rational autonomy and
seeing right from wrong. From this view, it follows that
people should not be treated differently solely because of
inherited group characteristicsincluding race and gender,
as well as the religion of parents and inherited status and
wealth(orthelackofit).
29
Impactondemocracy
Thetermdemocracyisoftenusedasifitwereunambiguous,
but there is an important difference between majoritarian
and deliberative democracy. In liberal countries constit
utions have typically been enacted (or evolved in Britains
case) to both strengthen and limit public decisionmaking.
Weoftenspeakofconstitutionalsafeguardsorlimitsasifthe
only aim were to curtail the power of government. Such
limits have always been fundamental to avoidance of the
abuse of power, but constitutions also seek to improve the
qualityofdecisionmakingbyrequiringopendiscussionand
buildingindelaystoensurethatallpointsofviewareheard
and hasty decisions avoided. And as chapter 1 mentioned,
some emotionally charged issues, especially concerning
religiousbelief,havebeenkeptoutsidethepoliticaldomain
tomakeiteasierfordebatetotakeplaceinanatmosphereof
mutuallearningthroughdiscussionandcompromise. 1
Behind the tradition of constitutional government are
assumptions about the human condition, particularly the
beliefthatallhumansarefallibleandthatweneedthehelp
of others through open discussion toarrive at better judge
ments. In particular, liberals have mistrusted entrenched,
hereditary power and wanted a constitution to create a
sphereofpersonalsecurityinwhichindividualtalentcould
thrive. Constitutions lock in safeguards against our worst
selves to ensure deliberative democracy, that is learning
through discussion, limits on power, and the exclusion of
issuesthatcanneverberesolvedbyreasoneddebate.
Earlier, I argued that modern victimhood is a political
status that is sought after because of the advantages it
brings.Oneconsequencehasbeentoweakenourdemocracy
30
IMPACTONDEMOCRACY
by encouraging a selfserving approach to the political

process. Above all, seeking victim status encourages the
invention and nursing of grievances. The underlying
problemforvictimgroupsisthatoncetheyhavebeengiven
preferential treatment their power increases and, thereby,
underminesthecaseforspecialtreatment.Asaresult,some
groups make strenuous efforts to maintain their victim
statusbyexaggeratingtheirsufferings.Fourmainstrategies
for gaining and maintaining victim status may be singled
out:highlightinghistoricgrievances;falselyclaimingtohave
been insulted; widening the definition of the group to
increase political clout; and putting factual claims about
theirstatusbeyondrationalcontradiction.
Highlightinghistoricgrievances
The main criterion for victim status is that an oppressor
imposes some kind of hardship. The most attractive
hardships are those not experienced at all by the person
laying claim to victim status or those suffered by someone
else, which explains the appeal of historic grievances
suffered by earlier generations. The wrong may have been
realatthetime,asitwaswithslavery,butethnicminorities
today may have suffered no direct ill effects from the
eighteenthcentury slave trade. Indeed, some will be
descendants of the tribes who captured other Africans and
soldthemasslavestoEuropeanandArabtraders.
Increasingtouchiness
Anotheropportunityiscreatedbytakingoffenceatinnocent
remarksorvalidcriticismsthatareredefinedasinsults.This
phenomenon explains the prevalence of speech codes.
Feminists, for example, got away with claiming that words
ending in man excluded women. The term chairman
proved especially fruitful. It has been the custom for
31
hundreds of years to address a male chairman as Mr

ChairmanandafemaleasMadamChairman.Thespelling
never implied that only men could chair a meeting, but by
claiming otherwise a grievance was invented and carefully
nursed. The spelling of the word chairman was proof of
grievance in its own right and preferential treatment could
be demanded without experiencing any real hardship or
inconvenience.
Oneofthemoreperversestrategieshasbeentoclaimthat
living in a tolerant society is an insult. It takes the form of
demandingnotmerelytolerationforgrouphabits,butequal
respect. Thus activists among gay men say that they feel
insulted if their behaviour in private is merely tolerated.
Legaltolerationisnotenoughandgayrelationshipsmustbe
putonanequalfootingwithheterosexualrelations.Insome
ways the behaviour of such groups resembles that of
adolescentsinabadmood.Theyarenotgoingtobesatisfied
with anything less than total surrender to their will. An
importantpartofthestrategyistoestablishthatthevictimis
the sole judge of when language is offensive. To keep
oppressors and sympathisers on the hop, every now and
thentheychangethewordsthatcauseoffence.Recentlythe
use of the term mental handicap has been redefined as
insulting.
For many years a distinction was made between mental
illness and mental handicap. The former was a condition
that could be overcome through therapy and the latter one
that could not. A person with a physically damaged brain,
forexample,willneverfullyrecover.Thepressuregroupthe
Royal Mencap Society however, prefers to use the term
learning disability and criticised the journalist Dominic
Lawson for describing his own daughter, who has Downs
Syndrome, as mentally handicapped. Mencap alleged that
the term stigmatises people and Lord Rix, the president of
32
IMPACTONDEMOCRACY
theRoyalMencapSociety,wrotetotheIndependentclaiming
that people with a learning disability regarded the term
mental handicap with horror and disdain. 2 The subject
stimulated strong feelings and several letters to the editor
followed. One parent of a boy with a mental handicap
arguedthatthetermmentalhandicapwasanaccurateand
widelyunderstooddescription.Weshould,hesaid,usethe
correcttermanddismissthefabricatedstigma. 3
Somegayactivistshaveredefinedthetermhomosexual
asaninsult.Stonewallswebpageonpreferredterminology
to use in media reporting gives a list of approved words.
The entry for homosexual reads: Considered by some in
theLGBcommunitytobeaderogatoryandoffensiveterm.
It originates from a medical definition when samesex
attraction/relationships were construed as mental illness.
Instead, journalists are advised to use: gay, lesbian, gay
man/woman,bisexual,bisexualman/womanortheacronym
LGB (lesbian, gay and bisexual). 4 This criticism led the
authors of a report for the Department of Constitutional
Affairs to recommend that the term homosexual should be
replacedinofficialdocuments. 5 LordFalconerisreportedto
haveacceptedtherecommendation. 6
Stonewall in Wales has decided that the term openly
gayisunacceptable.Initswebpageonhatecrimeitwarns
journaliststhatIncludingphrasesinreportingsuchasthe
victim was openly gay or somehow flaunted her/his
sexuality suggests to readers that the victim is somehow
responsible for the crime. It suggests they brought it on
themselves and can serve to endorse some peoples
prejudices. 7 However, the penchant of victim groups for
changing at very short notice the words they find insulting
not only traps oppressors, it can also catch out fellow
victims.WordhadobviouslynotgotthroughtoStonewallin
London,whosewebsitedisplaystheStonewallmanifestofor
33
the2005generalelection.Itregretsthefactthattherearestill
onlyatinynumberofopenlygayMPs.Andthetimelineof
gayandlesbianhistoryfallsintothesametrapwhenitsays
thatWaheedAllitookhisplaceintheHouseofLordsasthe
UKs first openly gay life peer. 8 The Stonewall workplace
equality index also uses the phrase and so does the
equivalentwebpageofStonewallinWales,whichendorses
companies that have openly gay staff on their board of
directors. 9
In some cases, the victims themselves do not even ask
for preferential treatment. Their champions have called
upon local authorities, for example, to remove Christmas
symbols to avoid insulting Muslims. However, spokesmen
for Muslims had not requested any such sensitivity and
expressed surprise that a local authority might think that
way. In some cases it seems that secularist groups are
seizing the opportunity to remove religious symbols from
the public sphere, when the both Muslim and Christian
leadershaveanattitudeofmutualtolerance.
Similarly,whena10yearoldboyinGreaterManchester
wastakentocourtbythepoliceforracistabuse,theMuslim
CouncilofBritain(MCB)saiditthoughtitwasunnecessary.
TahirAlam,chairmanoftheMCBeducationcommittee,was
quotedintheDailyMailassaying:Withchildrenasyoung
asthatweshouldworkaroundthesethingssotheydevelop
respect for one another. The issue of racism is, of course,
very serious but we should educatethem, not take them to
court. 10 Theactionofthepoliceappearstohavebeenpartly
theresultofadesiretoimprovetheimageofthepolicepost
Macpherson.
Victimstatuscanalterthebalanceofpowerinthework
placebymakingitmoredifficultforemployerstoobjectto
conduct that is open to valid criticism. Ironically Sir Ian
Blair, the Metropolitan Police Commissioner who has been
34
IMPACTONDEMOCRACY
oneofthechampionsofpoliticalcorrectness,hasfoundthat
hisabilitytomanagegayorethnicminorityofficershasbeen
weakened. He recently moved Brian Paddick to another
position and altered the management responsibilities of
Tarique Ghaffur. The Guardian remarked that Paddick was
thehighestrankedopenlygayofficerandthatGhaffurwas
the Mets most senior ethnicminority officer, and quoted
George Rhodes, chairman of the Metropolitan Black Police
Association,assaying,Whatmessagedoesthissendabout
respectandreflectingdiversityinthepoliceservice? 11
Categorycreepgettinginontheact
To gain political recognition it is necessary to build a
coalition to put pressure on political parties. This need
encourages groups to define themselves as widely as
possible,toincreasetheirvotingimpact.Butitisnotjustthat
existinggroupsseekrecruits,itisalsothatindividualswho
previously did not see themselves as victims change their
attitude in order to profit. I recall a successful American
business leader telling me about his mixed feelings about
usinghisvictimstatus.HewasaPuertoRicanwhohadbeen
very successful in America without playing the race card.
Yet,whenhisdaughterwas18helearnedthathecouldget
her into a better college if he highlighted her race. He
believed in making it on your own merits, but admitted
that the temptation was too much and he seized the
opportunitytobenefithisdaughter,despitehisfeelingsthat
itwasunjust.
Disability appears to have been most vulnerable to
expansion. For many years disabled people, for example,
had welldefined problems such as deafness, blindness or
being confined to a wheelchair. In America, the process of
category creep has gone furthest, such that recovering
alcoholicsandobesepeoplenowclaimtobecoveredbythe
35
Americans With Disabilities Act. The British government

wasawareofthedangerwhenthe1995DisabilityDiscrim
inationActwaspassedandexplicitlyexcludedbystatutory
instrumentsomepotentialdisabilities,includingatendency
tosetfires,justincasearsoniststriedtoclaimtobeonapar
with paraplegics. This expedient has not prevented
recruitmentreachingoveronefifthofthepopulation. 12
Puttingfactualclaimsbeyondrationalcontradiction
Whenagrouphasaweakevidentialcaseforitsdemands,it
iscommontotrytodowngradetheimportanceofevidence.
Oneapproachistoreplaceevidencewithemotionalappeals
to distract attention from the lack of supporting facts. The
claimthatanycriticismisblamingthevictim,describedin
chapter 1, is one such ploy. In some cases the process
resemblestheinventionofpermanentvictimhood,captured
bywordssuchasislamophobia,homophobiaanddisablism,
which imply that the groups concerned are the constant
victimsoftheiroppressors.Ittakesforgrantedthatsomeone
isavictimwhenthatisthefactualclaimtobeestablished.
Another approach is to frame supporting arguments in
terms that prevent factual contradiction, especially by
assertingclaimsthatcannotbetested.Toassertthepresence
of prejudice or bias in human affairs as full proof of
discriminationisonesuchdevice.Butprejudiceandbiasare
attitudesofmind.Theyarenotactionsandtheymayormay
notleadtodiscriminatoryactions.Whetherornottherehas
beenadiscriminatoryactinanyparticularcaseneedstobe
established. Unwitting attitudes of mind are even more
useful. If the person with the attitude does not know he or
she has it, how could anyone else know? And yet, the
presenceofsuchunwittingattitudeshasbeenassumedtobe
a reality. Moreover, the possibility of positive unwitting
attitudes is neglected. For example, many people (unwitt
36
IMPACTONDEMOCRACY
ingly) are afraid of being accused of racism and bend over

backwardstoavoidgivingoffence.Itispreciselythissemi
conscious sense that is being exploited by protagonists for
victim status. But, inany event, the law should always rest
on demonstrated facts, not attitudes of mindwitting or
unwitting.
The term institutional racism, as defined by the
MacphersonInquiry,providesoneoftheworstexamplesof
puttingissuesbeyondevidence.TheMacphersondefinition
wasthis:
Thecollectivefailureofanorganisationtoprovideanappropriate
andprofessionalservicetopeoplebecauseoftheircolour,culture,
or ethnic origin. It can be seen or detected in processes, attitudes
andbehaviourwhichamounttodiscriminationthroughunwitting
prejudice, ignorance, thoughtlessness, and racist stereotyping
which disadvantage minority ethnic people. It persists because of
thefailureoftheorganisationopenlyandadequatelytorecognise
and address its existence and causes by policy, example and
leadership. 13
The starting point for the Macpherson concept of

institutional racism is an outcome unfavourable to an
ethnicminority.However,whethertheoutcomewasbecause
oftheirethnicstatusisanempiricalquestionthatisassumed
bythisdefinitiontobeanestablishedtruth.Thisinadequacy
is further compounded by talking of unwitting prejudice.
But there may be prejudice without discrimination and it
always remains to be established by investigation whether
or not there has been either prejudice or actual
discrimination.
It is worth unpacking some of this terminology a little
more.Thetermprejudicehastwocommonmeanings.One
istoprejudgewithoutevidenceorexperience.Thesecondis
toformanadversejudgementaboutanindividualortotreat
an individual unjustly based on such prejudgement. We
inevitably make judgements about individuals based on
37
theirmembershipofagroup,becausesomequalificationsor
typesofbehaviouraremorecommoninsuchgroups.Itisa
fact of human experience (and therefore not a pre
judgement)thatgroupmembershiptellsussomethingabout
individuals. Certain qualities are more common among the
FrenchthantheBritish.Peopleborntoacertaincultureare
influenced by it. Someone raised as a Catholic in Italy, for
example,ismorelikelytobeagainstabortionthansomeone
raisedwithoutreligioninSovietRussia.
As Norman Dennis has shown, such group general
isations, sometimes called stereotypes, are a useful and
unavoidable part of the human condition. Prejudice, in its
pejorative sense, is judging an individual in advance of
experience or persisting with a judgement regardless of
contrary evidence. For example, one group generalisation
about the English might be that they are dry and
unemotional.However,itwouldbeanunjustifiedprejudice
to insist that, because William Shakespeare was an
Englishman,hemustbedryandunemotional.
Stereotyping, says Dennis, is judgement based on
experience of the chance that a person from this group or
categoryismorelikelytobehaveinonewaythananother. 14
Suchaviewmightalsobecalledabias,thatis,aninclination
towards a point of view or a preference for or against
something.Forexample,wemaybeinclinedtotrustpeople
who are well dressed rather than people who are scruffily
attired. Our assumption could easily be mistaken but we
havemanymomentaryinteractionswithstrangerswhenwe
havelittleoptionbuttorelyonsuchrulesofthumb.
Ourassumptionsaboutgroupcharacteristicsaregeneral
isations that may or may not be true in particular cases.
Moreover, as statistical generalisations they may be true of
only a minority of group members. For example, a higher
proportion of black Britons compared with white Britons
38
IMPACTONDEMOCRACY
have been to jail, but its still only a minority of black men
who have been imprisoned. The same would be true in
America, but it did not stop black presidential candidate
JesseJacksonarguingthathehadbeenreasonablewhenhe
wasrelievedtodiscover,onturningroundinthestreetone
dark night, that the footsteps he heard behind him were
thoseofawhiteman.Hehadmadeanestimateoftheriskof
beingattackedbasedonagroupgeneralisation.Hehadnot
madeastatementaboutallblackAmericans.
Stereotypes and prejudice are part of the human
condition. A stereotype (based on a group generalisation)
may be justified or not, and a prejudice (prejudgement,
whether adverse or not) may be unavoidable or not until
direct experience can replace it. But both are attitudes of
mind and, even when they exist, it still remains to be
establishedwhetherornotdiscriminationoccurred.Thomas
SowellgivesanexamplefromSouthAfrica,whereprejudice
undoubtedly existed and laws explicitly prohibited the
employmentofblacks,butwherethecostsofnotemploying
blacksweresuchthatotherwiseprejudicedemployershired
them. The construction industry would have failed if
building companies had not employed black workers. And
in the Transvaal clothing industry all blacks were banned
fromworkingunderapartheidlaws,butin1969themajority
oftheworkforcewasblack. 15 Inthesecases,then,therewas
prejudice and legal discrimination, but less actual discrim
inationthanthelawrequired.
Moreover, minorities may continue to flourish despite
not only prejudice but also discrimination. Malaysia has
restricted university access for the Chinese, but has been
unable to impede their success. Throughout the 1960s, to
give but one example, the Chinese minority were awarded
over 400 degrees in engineering whereas the native Malays
receivedonlyfour. 16
39
The important lesson is that we can avoid mistakes by

basing our concern to avoid discrimination on evidence of
actual behaviour and demonstrated outcomes. The mere
presenceofattitudesofmindisnotproofofdiscrimination.
Theconsequencesfordemocracyand
constitutionalism
Thesestratagemsforgainingandkeepingvictimstatusand
the preferential treatment that goes with it have a harmful
effectonourdemocraticsystem.Herearethreesucheffects.
Weakeningtheidealoflimitedgovernment
Limitedgovernmentisuseful,notonlybecauseitdefinesthe
sphere in which the state can use legitimate force, thus
leaving people free to improve their lives as they believe
best in the remaining private domain, but also because it
keeps heated issues, which are not easily resolved through
the exchange of views or a spirit of compromise, outside
politics. Victim politics tends to draw such contentious
issues back into the political process with the result that it
becomesmorefraughtandirrational.
Increasingly victim groups demand that hotlydisputed
issues be made subject to police power. As described in
chapter 3, differences of opinion about the best arrange
mentsforadoptingchildrenhaveledtopoliceaction, 17 and
so too have claims by Sir Iqbal Sacranie, then head of the
MuslimCouncilofBritain,thathomosexualityincreasesthe
risk of disease. In both cases, issues best resolved by the
clashofopinionandtheweightofevidencehadbeenmade
amatterofforce.
Many differences can only be handled, especially in a
diverse society, by agreeing to disagree. Large realms of
disagreement,especiallyinmattersoffaith,arenotopento
40
IMPACTONDEMOCRACY
rational dispute, and are best kept outside politics. In the

past, liberals argued that the best way to respect different
pointsofviewwasforthelawtobesilentaboutthem.
Underminesreasonandmutualunderstanding
A further consequence of emphasising mutually exclusive
group identities is that the potential to settle differences
throughreasonitselfisweakened.Thisproblemisoverand
abovethetendencytoassertclaimsthatcannotbetested,as
touched upon earlier. I have in mind occasions when the
nonvictim is defined as incapable of understanding the
plight of the victim: no white can understand the
predicamentofablackperson;nomancancomprehendthe
predicamentofawoman.Anycommenttheoutsidermakes
isunavoidablyprejudicedandsothepossibilityofresolving
conflictsbytheexchangeofviewsisruledout.
The sensitivity that requires others to adjust to the self
defined sense of grievance of the victim is sharply in
contrast with the morality of freedom Kant had in mind
when he formulated the categorical imperative. And it is
notconsistentwiththegoldenruledountoothersasyou
would have them do unto youwhich also enjoins us to
takethefeelingsofothersintoaccount.Forcenturies,moral
systems have urged us to try to see ourselves as others see
us;tosympathisewiththefeelingsofotherpeople;andnot
to exempt ourselves from observing rules which apply to
everyone else. But victim status justifies a quite different
ethos.Onlythevictimcanjudge.Thismakesthesensitivity
requiredverydifferentfromtheordinarycivilityexpectedin
a typical daily exchange. Victim status is the perfect excuse
forselfexemptionfromrulesthatrightlyapplytoothers.It
is not compatible with the mutual respect of free and
responsible persons. The American lesbian feminist writer
Tammy Bruce, who began to see some of the flaws in the
41
intellectual positions she had earlier defended, has shown

how many activists were motivated by what she calls
malignant narcissism. 18 That term may strike many as a
little too severe, but she is right to emphasise that
victimhoodoftenfocusesontheimperialself.
Thewrongpeoplebenefit
A major side effect of victimism is that the wrong people
benefit.Victimgroupsincludeaspreadofdifferenttypesof
people. Some black Americans, for example, are rich and
some poor. Because there is a higher concentration of
poverty among black Americans compared with white
Americans, privileges have been demanded for all blacks,
includingtherich.Forexample,quotasguaranteeingethnic
minorities access to universities have been enacted to
compensate black Americans, but relatively few of those
who have gained university places have come from poor
backgrounds. 19
Indeed, group privileges have often been harvested by
thewrongpeople,thatisthealreadysuccessfulmembersof
ethnic groups. For example, one of the mistakes made in
America was to give preferential treatment to ethnically
ownedbusinessesasastrategyforalleviatingpoverty.Few
consider it to have been a success. If anything, contract
compliancehasbenefitedthealreadysuccessfulmembersof
minorities.UndertheSmallBusinessActbusinessesowned
by ethnic minorities were entitled to a proportion of
government contracts. However, the American minority
businessmenwhowereawardedthesecontractswereinno
sensedeprived.Theyenjoyedapersonalnetworthabove
that of all Americans. 20 Middleclass feminist women often
make similar demands. They claim that women in the past
have been discriminated against, and insist upon job
promotions today, when they have personally suffered no
42
IMPACTONDEMOCRACY
lossandmaynotdeserveonmeritthejobappointmentthey
seek.
The assumption is made that the most important thing
about a person is their group membership. Moreover, all
group members are assumed to have had shared exper
iences,whentheymaynothavedoneso.Thisassumptionis
significant because all group members can claim to have
sufferedhardshipsexperiencedbyonlyafewmembers.
However, awareness that welloff people are using the
political system to advantage themselves weakens confid
enceindemocracyitselfandencouragesmorepeopletotake
a cynical view of the public sphere.They may see it asless
the domain for pursuing the common good and more the
place to press your own interestsbecause if you dont
otherswill.
Conclusions
I argued earlier that there is an authoritarian or anti
democraticdimensiontothemodernquestforvictimstatus.
Is this claim justified? Norman Dennis has succinctly
described how doctrines that cannot be tested by any
member of the public play into the hands of elitists who
believe they have unique insights into social realities,
sufficient to justify using political power to impose their
view when they can. In the face of such claims, reliance on
evidenceisagreatleveller;andtheobligationtostatefactual
claimsinawaythatanyonecantestisagreatequaliser. 21
Liberalism emerged precisely as an antidote to groups
whobelievedtheyhadaspecialinsightandaspecialrightto
control the ignorant masses. Postmodernists who think
they see social realities more clearly are, in this sense, no
differentfromthechampionsofthedivinerightofkings,or
aristocrats who thought they were born to rule. Author
itarians think that the arguments are already settled. The
43
taskistoactonthesuperiorinsightofthefew,nottowaste
time questioning it. People must be moved to action, not
givenalicencetoprevaricate.Liberalismsreplyhasalways
been:ifyouthinkyouknowsomethingtherestofusdont,
thensubmitittothetestofpubliccriticism!OrinPoppers
moreexactvocabulary,stateyourtheoryinsuchawaythat
itcanberefutedbyevidence.
44
Victimstatusandlegalequality
By requiring the consent of Parliament, following open

discussion by all who might be subject to proposed laws,
andbyrequiringthatlawsmustapplyequallytoeveryone,
the intention of liberals was to reduce the risk that law
wouldbeabusedtobenefitparticulargroupsattheexpense
of others. As Hume remarked in the eighteenth century,
apart from purely personal loyalties three main types of
political faction were found: based on affection (such as
loyaltytoaclanornoblefamily);principle(suchasreligious
doctrine); or interest (such as a desire for monetary gain).
Power had been constantly abused to benefit the favourites
ofthemonarch,thereligionfavouredbythecrown,andthe
landed or commercial interests with influence at court. The
liberalalternativewasforallmembersofsocietytoseekonly
thoselawsthatwereforthegoodofall.
Historically,wehavebeenaccustomedtogroupsputting
forward arguments for laws to be passed in order to give
them an advantage. However, the expectation that law
should serve the common good has generally made it
necessaryforanyoneseekingprivategaintoclaimthatthere
issomepublicbenefitinvolved.Manufacturersandtraders,
for instance, have not usually called for protection from
competition so that they can make bigger profits, but to
protect jobs and contribute to the prosperity of all. Even
though some claims to act in the public interest have been
false, nevertheless the idea that law ought to serve the
commongoodhasputlimitsonabuse.
In the modern era, laws privileging trade unions should
have alerted us to the dangers of giving preferential
treatmenttoorganisedgroups.In1901theTaffValeRailway
45
Company successfully sued the rail workers union for

losses suffered during a strike. As a result, the Liberal
Government passed the Trade Disputes Act in 1906
removing trade union liability during strikes. Unlike
everyone else, trade unions were henceforth able to break
contracts without legal consequences. By the 1960s and
1970s trade union immunity was being frequently abused
and by the late 1970s the legal protections given to trade
unionsinrecognitionoftheirweaknesswerewidelyseenas
absurd.Thevictimhadbecometheoppressorand,following
a series of strikes in which union power was abused, the
lawswererepealedinthe1980s.
Despite this experience, preferential policies have been
introduced in the UK, threatening the liberal ideal of
equality under the law. But victim groups are not just
political factions pressing for preferential treatment. They
alsoundermineoneofthefundamentalbuildingblocksofa
freesociety,theequallegalstatusofitsmembers.Theydoso
in two main ways. First, laws have been enacted to award
preferential treatment to some groups at the expense of
others, not least laws setting targets for workplace
recruitment. Second, the impartiality of the main criminal
justice agencies, the courts and the police, has been
weakened. For example, when ethnicity is involved, judges
have been officially advised not to be impartial. And the
creation of hate crimes has led to the abandonment of the
idealofevenhandednessinpolicing.
Weakeningtheimpartialityofthepoliceand
judges
AbookletproducedbytheEqualTreatmentAdvisoryCom
mittee for the Judicial Studies Board, the officialagency for
advisingjudges,beginswiththestatementthat:Justiceina
modernanddiversesocietymustbecolourconscious,not
46
VICTIMSTATUSANDLEGALEQUALITY
colourblind. And in order to emphasise the point, a list

ofninedosanddontsincludes:Becolourconsciousnot
colourblind. 1 Butthepolicehavegonethefurthest.The
laws against alleged hate crimes have become a rationale
for using police powers against innocent people who have
had the temerity to venture an opinion disliked by a
politicallydefinedvictim.
Hatecrime
The most pernicious developments have happened since
1998,whenthelawbegantotreatcrimesagainstpolitically
mandatedvictimsasmoreseriousthancrimesagainstother
individuals. Initially applied only to race, the number of
victimsclaimingpreferentialtreatmenthasgrownrapidly.
In 1998 the Crime and Disorder Act 2 created the
possibility that assault, harassment, criminal damage and
public order offences could be racially aggravated. For
example,thenormalmaximumsentenceforcommonassault
issixmonths.Ifraciallyaggravated,itistwoyears.Muslims
objected that they were not specifically included (although,
becausemostareAsians,theywerecoveredasmembersof
anethnicminority)andsoundertheAntiTerrorism,Crime
and Security Act 2001, crimes could be religiously
aggravated. Moreover, the Powers of Criminal Courts
(Sentencing) Act 2000, as amended, requires the courts to
considerracialorreligioushostilityasanaggravatingfactor
when deciding on the sentence for any offence that is not
specificallyraciallyorreligiouslyaggravatedunderthe1998
Act. Soon the other organised victim groups were
demanding preferential treatment and the Criminal Justice
Act 2003 requires courts to consider disability or sexual
orientationasaggravatingfactorswhendecidingasentence
foranyoffence. 3
47
What have these legal changes meant in practice? There

aretwoconcerns.First,crimesagainstmembersofpolitically
recognised victim groups are considered as more serious
than those against other people. And second, police power
has been used to suppress legitimate public discussion,
undertheguiseofpreventinghatecrime.
The Preface referred to the disparity in sentencing
between a case in which the murder victim had been gay
andanotherinwhichhehadnot.Asimilardisparityoccurs
whenamurdervictimhasbeenkilledonracialgrounds.The
starting point for calculating the minimum sentence for a
murder is 15 years, but it is 30 years when there is racial
aggravation.Theinequalitywashighlightedinsummer2005
whentwoterriblemurdersoccurredonthesamedayinJuly
2005. Richard Whelan, a young white man, was murdered
on a bus by a black youth who stabbed him several times
becauseheaskedhimnottothrowchipsatotherpeopleon
thebus.Hismurdererapparentlycarriedaknifeasamatter
of course, but the murder was not considered racially
aggravated.
Inthesecondcase,AnthonyWalker,ayoungblackman
ofexemplarycharacterfromLiverpool,wasstabbedwithan
iceaxeafterhehadbeenraciallyabusedwhilewaitingfora
bus. The BBC was criticised for giving a great deal of air
timetothemurderofAnthonyWalkerandnotmentioning
themurderofRichardWhelan,somuchsothatitpostedan
explanationon its web site conceding thatwe should have
mentioned the Whelan murder, however briefly. 4 In
November2005themurdererofAnthonyWalkerwasgiven
23 years, after discounts. 5 At the time of writing the
murdererofRichardWhelanhasyettobesentenced,butthe
starting point will be 15 years, not 30. It is difficult to see
why a murder on racial grounds should be considered
worse than one motivated by sheer malice towards anyone
48
whohappenedtoirritatetheperpetrator.AsDetectiveChief
Inspector John MacDonald, who carried out the invest
igationintoRichardWhelansmurder,saidtotheBBC:This
wasatotallyunprovokedattackbysomeonewhoobviously
carries a knife as a matter of course. Anybody could have
been the victim of this crime. The disparity is the result of
the prevailing culture of victimhood and we urgently need
toreinstateourlongstandingcommitmenttoequalityunder
thelaw.
Of course, we have longrecognised thatall murders are
notexactlythesame.Killinginselfdefence,forinstance,has
always been accepted. And the acceptability of some
mitigating or aggravating factors is not in dispute. The
problem is that we have weakened our commitment to
equality under the law by relating aggravating factors to
membership of victim groups, rather than to individual
behaviour.WehavefallenintothetrapforeseenbyGeorge
Orwell in Animal Farm: All animals are equal, but some
animalsaremoreequalthanothers.
Butsentencingisnottheonlyproblem,andthebarrister
Francis Bennion has described several cases in which the
police have been used to intimidate people. The examples
reveal the extent to which the leadership of the police has
been captured by special interest groups who hope to use
police power against their legitimate critics. 6 Some of the
casesinvolvingpublicfigureshaveattractedpressattention.
Remarks about the Welsh by Tony Blair 7 and Christina
Odone, for example, led to police investigations. When she
was a panellist on BBC Question Time, journalist Christina
OdoneremarkedduringanexchangeaboutCardiffpossibly
hostingthe2012OlympicsinsteadofLondonthat,fromnow
on,theEnglisharenotgoingtobetalkingabouttheleeks,
and they are not going to be talking about the little
Welshies.Aviewercomplainedaboutthelatterphraseto
49
the police who told Ms Odone during a telephone

conversationthathercommentsconstitutedaraceincident
but not a crime. 8 Although no punishment was meted out,
thepolicehadbeenusedtointimidateher.
An even more blatant attempt to use the police to
intimidate critics was made by Wyre Borough Council
during 2005. Apparently in an effort to win the Navajo
Charter Mark for Equality & Diversity, gay rights leaflets
had been displayed on council premises. Mr Joe Roberts,
aged 73, told the council that this offended his Christian
beliefs, and he asked if he could display his Christian
literature alongside the gay rights leaflets. The council
reported Mr Roberts to the police, who came to his house.
AccordingtoMrRoberts:
They warned me that being discriminatory and homophobic is in
line with hate crime. The phrase they used was that we were
walking on eggshells. I asked the officer, if I phoned the police
with a complaint that the council were discriminating against
Christianswouldhegotointerviewthem? 9
AcouncilspokesmansaidMrRobertsandhiswifeHelen
had displayed potentially homophobic attitudes and
admitted that the council had referred the matter to the
police for further investigation with the intention of
challenging attitudes and educating and raising awareness
of the implications of homophobic behaviour. 10 The police
saidtheyhadgivenwordsofsuitableadvicebut,intruth,
they had willingly been used to intimidate someone who
wasmerelyventuringalegitimateopinioninafreesociety.
How these events came about can better be understood
byglancingattheguidanceonhatecrimeproducedbythe
Association of Chief Police Officers (ACPO). Its manip
ulative approach is revealed when the chapter on the legal
framework says that it presents a number of legislative
options to be used in combating hate crime. 11 And later it
50
giveslinkstolegislativetools,whichmustbeconsidered. 12
A defender of liberty such as Locke (above) would never
havecalledalawanoptionoratool.
AccordingtoPeterFahy,chairmanoftheACPORaceand
DiversityWorkingGroup,writingintheforeword:
Hate crime scars its victims beyond the legacy of any physical
injury.Ifitisnotprofessionallyandsuccessfullycounteredbythe
agenciesofsocialcontrol,itspervasiveeffectistocreatealarmand
fearasitchipsawaythemortarofsocialcohesion.
Inasecondforeword,PaulEvansofthePoliceStandards
Unit,basedintheHomeOffice,says:
I would recommend Forces revisit their policies and tactical
optionsparticularlyinrelationtoRepeatVictimisationwithaclear
emphasis on enforcement prevention and intervention at the
earlieststages.
This plea for early intervention seems to explain the

policeinvestigationsthathaveincreasinglyhittheheadlines.
Amongthese,thegayhorsecaseisrevealing.
SamBrownwasanOxfordundergraduatewhowentout
inMay2005tocelebratetheendofexams.Emboldenedbya
drinkortwohehadsaidtoamountedpoliceofficer:Excuse
me,doyourealiseyourhorseisgay.Twosquadcarswere
senttoarresthim.Hewasdetainedinapolicecellovernight
andgivenafixedpenaltynoticefor80,whichherefusedto
pay.ThecasecametocourtinJanuary2006andtheCrown
Prosecution Service dropped the case at the last minute
because there was not enough evidence to prove that his
behaviour had been disorderly. The police disagreed and
insistedthathehadmadehomophobiccommentsthatwere
deemedoffensivetopeoplepassingby. 13
The police claim that the remarks were deemed
offensivehadledthemtochargehimundersection5ofthe
PublicOrderActwithbehaviourlikelytocauseharassment,
alarmordistress.Thecaserevealsthemajordifficultywith
51
hate crime, namely that facts do not matter. Ambiguity

initiallycreptinwhenracistincidentsweresaidtoberacist
if somebody thought they were, whether their claim was
true or not. The ACPO hatecrime document repeatedly
states that the facts are immaterial. When speaking of
secondary victimisation (when a person is dissatisfied with
thepoliceservice)itsaysthis:
If, as victims of hate crimes or incidents, individuals experience
indifference or rejection from the police this in effect victimises
them a second time. Secondary victimisation takes place whether
ornotthepoliceareindifferentorrejectthevictimsifthatishow
the victim feels about the interaction. Whether or not it is
reasonable for them to feel that way is immaterial. The onus falls
entirelyonthepolicetomanagetheinteractiontoensurethatthevictim
has no residual feelings of secondary victimisation. 14 (Emphasis in
original.)
This mentality is not new and nor did it begin with the
Macpherson report on the murder of Stephen Lawrence, as
some have argued. Macpherson reported in February 1999
thattheACPOdefinitionofaracistincidentwasasfollows:
A racial incident is any incident in which it appears to the
reporting or investigating officer that the complaint involves an
element of racial motivation, or any incident which includes an
allegationofracialmotivationmadebyanyperson.
Macpherson recommended replacement by a simpler

formofwords:
Aracistincidentisanyincidentwhichisperceivedtoberacistby
thevictimoranyotherperson. 15
AsFrancisBennionhasshown,ACPOpolicy,reinforced
by Macpherson, has removed the test that the law should
expect conduct considered appropriate by a reasonable
person. Bennion quotes the distinguished judge, Lord
Macmillan:
In the daily contacts of social and business life human beings are
throwninto,orplacethemselvesin,aninfinitevarietyofrelations
52
with their fellows; and the law can refer only to the standards of
thereasonableman 16
Of course, these days a judge would refer to the

reasonable person not man, but the vital point is clear
enough. By pandering to the desires of victim groups with
an axe to grind, the police have stopped being the
representatives of the reasonable person and become the
playthingsofpoliticalactivistsorpettymindedmembersof
thepublic.
There is now a considerable gulf between the rank and
file of the police and their sociologyinspired senior ranks.
Gradually, however, the recruitment strategy is replacing
officers trained in the tradition of impartiality with those
who have learnt how to demonstrate their gender or race
awareness (or rather their diversity awareness). In one
recent case a 19yearold female candidate for the police
service had passed to the interview stage and was asked
what she would do if she needed advice. She replied, I
would go to my sergeant and ask him for help. She failed
the interview for saying him, thus revealing her lack of
genderawareness.
Her treatment was the common experience of long
serving officers who began their careers in a service that
upheld the view that the police should be evenhanded
that justice was blindbut who now find they are treated
like misfits in need of retraining in diversity awareness.
Thenewatmospherewashighlightedin2002attheannual
conferenceofthePoliceFederation,whenJohnDenham,the
policeminister,saidthatitwastimetogetdowntothenitty
gritty on training of officers. His comment provoked a
rebuke from PC Chris Jefford of the Mets training
directorate. He told the minister that, if he used the term
nitty gritty, he would face a discipline charge because the
termwasconsideredracist.PCJeffordsaidpolicehadbeen
53
told nitty gritty was thought to have been a term used to

describe slaves in the lowest reaches of slave ships. 17 The
BBC subsequently included the term in its online e
cyclopedia, concluding that the origin of the term was
obscure and citing experts who thought it had little, if any,
connection with slavery. 18 But that had not prevented it
frombecomingaprohibitedterminpolicecircles.
TheRacialandReligiousHatredAct2006
TheRacialandReligiousHatredActwasgivenroyalassent
in February 2006, but fortunately it was in a much weaker
formthanoriginallyplannedbytheGovernment.Beforeits
amendment in the House of Lords, the Government
intendedtoenactalawthatwouldhaveallowedthepolice
tobesentintosilenceindividualswhocriticisedareligion,
much as police power has been used to suppress critics of
samesexadoptionorIslamiccriticsofhomosexuality.
Ourownhistoryshouldhavewarnedusofthedangers.
The slaughter and disruption of Britains own civil war,
whichendedwiththeexecutionoftheKingin1649,turned
themindsofmanytothediscoveryofapoliticalphilosophy
that would allow people who disagreed strongly neverthe
less to live together in the same country. Among the main
threats to this ideal of a free society were autocrats and
theocrats.DavidHumewasamongthemostseverecriticsof
religiousleaders:
We may observe, that, in all ages of the world, priests have been
enemies to liberty; and it is certain, that this steady conduct of
theirs must have been founded on fixed reasons of interest and
ambition. Liberty of thinking, and of expressing our thoughts, is
alwaysfataltopriestlypower,andtothosepiousfrauds,onwhich
itiscommonlyfounded. 19
Democracy has encouraged efforts to see the other

persons point of view, to seek agreement rather than to
54
quibble,andwherepossible,tocompromise.Forallgroups
to be subject to open criticism, including mockery and
ridicule, has been a great leveller. In its original form the
newlawcouldhavebeenusedtopersecutenonbelieversby
dragging them through the courts, or to allow valid
criticismstobeinterpretedasincitementofhatred.
Due to the determined efforts of many members of the
HouseofLords,theActwasweakened,chieflybyrequiring
proof of intent to cause religious hatred and by inserting a
clauseprotectingfreedomofspeechasfollows:
Nothing in this Part shall be read or given effect in a way which
prohibits or restricts discussion, criticism or expressions of
antipathy,dislike,ridicule,insultorabuseofparticularreligionsor
the beliefs or practices of their adherents, or of any other belief
system or the beliefs or practicesof its adherents, or proselytising
orurgingadherentsofadifferentreligionorbeliefsystemtocease
practisingtheirreligionorbeliefsystem.(Clause29J)
Given the willingness of the police leadership to allow

politicallydefined victim groups to deploy police power
againsttheircritics,clause29Jwasaluckyescape.
Lawsgrantingpreferentialstatus
Theevolutionofmodernantidiscriminationlaws
Modern antidiscrimination law began in the 1960s with
Americaspoliciestocombatracialdiscrimination.TheCivil
Rights Act of 1964 was designed to prohibit preferential
treatment of individuals according to race. It meant that
individuals could not be advantaged or disadvantaged
becauseoftheirgroupmembership.Eachmustbetreatedas
anindividual,onhisorherownmerits.
However, the initial intention of preventing overt
discrimination against blacks was soon being subverted.
Like everyone else, black Americans experience some
disadvantages not to their liking but wholly unconnected
55
with their ethnic status. The most damaging change

occurred when public policies assumed a priori that every
suchdisadvantagesufferedbyablackAmericanwasdueto
discrimination,regardlessofotherpossibleexplanations.In
particular,courtsbegantotakeitforgrantedthatdisparate
impact was evidence of discrimination. The underlying
assumption was that if blacks were not represented, for
example, in a workplace in the same proportion as in the
localityinwhichtheworkforcelived,thenitmustbedueto
discrimination. The same reasoning was applied to other
areas of life, such as university admissions and
representationinseniormanagementpositions.
There are, however, many reasons why the
representation of an ethnic group in a national or regional
population would not be replicated in any given sub
division of society. From the beginning, fears were voiced
thatthelawwouldbeusedtojustifydiscriminationinfavour
of black Americans, rather than to prevent discrimination
against them, but at the time of the Congressional debates
about the 1964 Act such fears were dismissed. There had
beenanExecutiveOrderpassedbyJohnF.Kennedyin1961
using the term affirmative action but it had been inter
preted to mean that employers must be active rather than
passive to ensure that job applicants and employees were
treated in the same manner, that is without regard to their
race, creed, color, or national origin. 20 Alarm bells were
sounded by a decision of the Fair Employment Practices
Commission in Illinois early in 1964, which found that
Motorola had discriminated against a black employee by
requiringhimtotakethesametestasotherapplicantsfora
job. When the case was raised during the debate about the
Civil Rights Act, defenders denied that the new law would
be interpreted to justify similar measures. Nevertheless,
subsequentcourtdecisions,includingsomebytheSupreme
56
Court, did just that and accepted that discrimination had

occurred if a measure, such as a test of ability to do a job,
had a disparate impact on minority groups. Similar
developments have occurred in the UK, where the practice
has been to describe disparate impact as indirect dis
crimination.
In one landmark American case in 1978, Regents of the
University of California v. Bakke, Justice Harry Blackmun
remarked:Inordertogetbeyondracism,wemustfirsttake
account of race, and, he concluded that in order to treat
somepersonsequally,wemusttreatthemdifferently. 21
President Lyndon Johnson issued an executive order in
1965thatcreatedtheOfficeofFederalContractCompliance.
Nevertheless, it was not until 1971 that it issued guidelines
laying down goals and timetables to increase materially
the utilization of minorities and women with under
utilization defined as having fewer in a particular job type
than would reasonably be expected by their availability. 22
The idea has now been incorporated into British employ
ment law. As well as prohibiting race discrimination in
many public functions not covered by the original British
1976 Act, the Race Relations (Amendment) Act of 2000
placedpublicbodiesunderadutytopromoteraceequality.
Listedbodies,incarryingouttheirfunctions,musthavedue
regardtoeliminateunlawfulracialdiscriminationandtopromote
equality of opportunity and good relations between persons of
differentracialgroups. 23 AstheOfficeforNationalStatistics
states:
The duty means that, in everything they do, public authorities
should aim to: eliminate unlawful racial discrimination; promote
equality of opportunity; and promote good relations between
people of different racial groups The general duty does not say
explicitly that you must monitor policy and service delivery.
However,youwillfinditdifficulttoshowthatyouhavemetyour
duty (to eliminate unlawful racial discrimination, and promote
57
equalityofopportunityandgoodracerelations)ifyoudonothave
any monitoring data you should not assume that monitoring is
somethingthatyoudonotneedtoworryabout. 24
Much of the literature about public duties and targets is

threatening in its tone but avoids watchwords like quota.
There are reasons for this linguistic ambiguity. Modood
concedesthattreatingminoritycandidatesdifferentlyfrom
whitecandidatescanbedifficulttojustifyinanyparticular
case, let alone to institutionalise through policies and pro
cedures and to build the necessary consensus amongst
managers,staff,etc..Heisalsoawarethatmulticulturalism
contradicts our basic intuition of fairness. Both concerns
mean that it will, therefore, be very difficult to get public
support for differential policies that are not merely about
tolerating difference but involve largescale resource com
mitments. 25
Inanefforttoimposepreferentialpolicieswhiletryingto
make it look as if they are not doing so, the British
Governmenthasresortedtosheerdoubletalk.MikeOBrien,
when he was Parliamentary Under Secretary of State at the
HomeOffice,claimedthattherewasasubstantivedifference
betweentargetsandquotas.Followingthefindingsofthe
Macphersonreport,hewrote:
these are targets rather than quotas. Quotas are illegal and are
opposed by most of the minority ethnic communities. People are
not looking for privileges or favouritism, merely an equal chance.
Targetsareaboutfairness,rewardingtalentandputtinganendto
glass ceilings. Managers will have to deliver the targets or justify
nothittingtheminthesamewayasanyothermanagementtarget.
Theywillbejudgedontheirabilitytodeliver. 26
But,iftargetsconstrainthebehaviourofmanagers,there
is a clear departure from the ideal of recruitment solely
accordingtoabilitytodothejob. 27
From 1999 the Government has set recruitment targets
for the Home Office to be achieved by 2009, with halfway
58
targets by 2004. The Prison, Probation, UK Passport, and

Immigration Services all exceeded their 2004 milestones.
OfficestaffinLondonandCroydonwere38.3percentfrom
ethnicminorities,wellinexcessofthe2009targetof25per
cent.In2005thepoliceachievedtheir2004milestoneof4.6
per cent and were progressing towards their 2009 target of
sevenpercent. 28
Lifechances,disaggregationandoutcomes
Beforefocusingmorefullyonfallaciousstatisticalreasoning,
one further background assumption should be challenged:
the idea that past outcomes for ethnic groups are reliable
predictors of future prospects. We are used to the financial
services industry warning us that past performance is no
guaranteeoffuturereturns,butitiscommontocalculatethe
life chances of individuals based on past experience. For
example, what are the chances of someone from an ethnic
minority working as a doctor in the NHS? A common
approach would be to compare the number of ethnic
minority doctors with the number of white doctors and to
calculate the ratio. But this ratio is the result of past
performance and may have no bearing on future
opportunities. Nevertheless, it does not prevent commen
tatorssayingthatif33percentofNHSdoctorswerefroman
ethnic minority in a given year, the chances of future
membersjoiningtheNHSareoneinthree.Suchastatement
disregardsnumerousfactorsthatinfluencetheoutcome.
As shown below, there are many reasons for outcomes
and we cannot assume that the causes of past occupational
representation will remain the same. Whether or not there
hasbeendiscriminationisanempiricalquestion.Moreover,
to speak of life chancesimplies factors beyond the control
of individuals, whereas some influences are under
individualcontrolandsomearenot.Ifthecurrentpatternof
59
representation were caused partly by factors under the

controlofindividuals,thenachangeofattitudeontheirpart
leadingtogreaterimagination,energy,ordetermination
could make a difference to future outcomes. Their life
chances,therefore,cannotbecalculatedbysimplyassuming
themtobepowerless.
Moreover, when comparing outcomes, it is important to
compare like with like. Sowell shows that average black
incomes in the US have been lower than for white
Americans, but as far back as 1969, if blacks from homes
with newspapers, magazines and library cards were
compared, then they earned the same as whites from the
same backgrounds and with the same educational attain
ments. 29 Similarlyblackprofessorsearnedmorethanwhites
in1970beforeaffirmativeactionbegan,solongasvariables
such as published articles, ranking of the university that
awarded their PhD and years of academic experience were
heldconstant. 30
These are examples of the importance of disaggregating
groupssothattherelevantcausesofoutcomescanbeiden
tified. The failures to disaggregate encourages sweeping
generalisations about victim groups and makes testing
factual claims difficult, if not impossible. But lets return to
ourmainconcern.
Statisticaldisparityisnotproofofdiscrimination
Deliberate attempts to discriminate in favour of ethnic
minorities are justified by pointing to the presence of
disparities between the representation of ethnic groups in
the total population and their representation in particular
occupations. I argued earlier that such disparities are not
proof of discrimination, but what are the reasons for
doubtingthiscommonassumption?
60
ThePrimeMinistersStrategyUnitpublishedareportin
2003 entitled Ethnic Minorities in the Labour Market, which
lookedattheroleofhumancapitaldefinedasthesumof
skills,knowledge,experienceandeducationalqualifications
inlabourmarketoutcomes. 31 TheStrategyUnitfoundthat
someminorityindividualspossessedlowerlevelsofhuman
capital than their white counterparts, which harmed their
employmentopportunities.However,theStrategyUnitalso
discovered that, even when measurable factors such as
levels of human capital and living in a deprived area were
taken into account, people from minority ethnic groups
continuedtosufferanemploymentdisadvantage:
Thereareimportantandworryingdisparitiesinthelabourmarket
performance that are not attributable to different levels of
education and skills. The persistence of workplace discrimination
isanimportantreasonforthis. 32
In that last sentence the authors of Ethnic Minorities in the

LabourMarketfellintothetrapofassumingthatunexplained
disparities must be the result of discrimination. No such
conclusionisjustified.
The underlying assumption is that the qualities and
inclinationsthatmakepeoplesuitableforanoccupationare
equally distributed between ethnic and cultural groups so
that large statistical disparities would not arise without
discrimination.TariqueGhaffur,theassistantcommissioner
of the Metropolitan Police, for example, recently insisted
thatbecausetherewere1.6millionMuslimsinthecountry,
there should be at least 20 Muslims in the House of
Commonsnot four. 33 It is further assumed that statistical
disparitiesaremeasuresofsuchdiscrimination. 34
Thomas Sowell has shown the weakness of this
assumption about numbers. Even in a random world of
identicalthings,heexplains,tosaythatsomethinghappens
acertainwayontheaverageisnottosaythatithappensthat
61
way every time. But affirmative action deals with averages

almost as if there were no variance. 35 Moreover, the
statistical methods unavoidably used to study ethnic
representation leave much room for doubt. If the CRE, for
example, were to survey 100 workplaces to test whether
their workforce included eight per cent from ethnic
minorities,itwouldhavetoensurethatitsresultswerenot
purely random. Typically social scientists use significance
testing to determine whether or not a result would have
happened anyway, with or without discrimination. A
commonapproachistodeclareaconfidenceintervalsuch
as 95 per cent. In such a case the result is assumed to be
random in one in every 20 cases, so that if 100 workplaces
were surveyed, there would be underrepresentation of
ethnicminoritiesinfiveofthemduetorandomchance,and
quite apart from any other considerations. Sowell remarks
ironicallythatyoumaybeconvictedofdiscrimination,even
ifyouhaveonlybeenguiltyofstatisticalvariance. 36
Butinanyevent,itisnotonlythatstatisticalmethodsare
pronetoerror;whenweconsidertheunequaldistributionof
personal characteristics within society as a whole, and
within the ethnic groups that make it up, there are very
good reasons to expect disparate outcomes. Dispro
portionate representation may be accounted for by many
factors other than discrimination, including geographic
distribution, personal choice, age, newcomer status,
language, and cultural differences affecting the role of
womenandfamilystructure.
Geographicdistribution
Ethnic minorities now tend to live in Britains major cities
andconurbations.Londonissignificantinthatatenthofall
white people in the UK lived there in 2001 compared to
almost half (45 per cent) of all ethnic minority people. A
62
thirdofthepopulationofinnerLondonandaquarterofthe
population of outer London were from ethnic minority
groups, after which the regions with the highest
concentrations were the West Midlands at 11 per cent,
followed by seven per cent each in Yorkshire and
Humberside and the East Midlands. 37 Seventy per cent of
black Africans and 61 per cent of black Caribbeans lived in
Londonin2001.MorethanhalfoftheBangladeshigroup(54
percent)alsolivedinLondon,while21percentlivedinthe
West Midlands, 20 per cent in Yorkshire and Humberside,
and16percentintheNorthWest. 38 Itisinevitablethatthe
representation of minorities in particular workplaces (or
leisure activities) will reflect this pattern. This reality,
however, did not discourage claims in 2005 that under
representation of ethnic groups among visitors to the Lake
Districtwasevidenceofdiscrimination.
Personalchoice
There may be different attitudes in different ethnic groups
towards what kind of employment is desirable. In 200203
some 1618 per cent of Indian, Chinese, white Irish, and
other nonBritish white groups were found in professional
occupations. The proportion of Indian men working as
doctorsawellremuneratedprofessionis,atfivepercent,
almost ten times higher than the rate for all white British
men. The groups with the lowest proportions of profess
ionals were the black groups, Bangladeshis, and Pakistanis,
allwithlessthantenpercent.WhiteBritishpeoplealsohad
relatively low rates of representation in professional
occupations(11percent).
In 2002/03, 23 per cent of Pakistani and 18 per cent of
Chinese people in employment in Great Britain were self
employed. This compares with around one in ten white
British and fewer than one in ten black people. 39 Certain
63
ethnic groups are concentrated in particular industries. In

2002/03, three fifths of Bangladeshi men and two fifths of
Chinese men in employment worked in the distribution,
hotel and restaurant industry, compared with one sixth of
their white British counterparts. Pakistani men were the
most likely to work in the transport and communication
industry25 per cent worked in this sector compared with
ten per cent of employed men overall. Half of black
CaribbeanandblackAfricanwomen(52percentand51per
cent respectively) worked in the public administration,
educationorhealthsectors.
These patterns have implications for career progression.
It is often claimed that groups whose members on average
occupy less favourable positions in the workplace have
suffered discrimination. However, the Strategy Unit found
that patterns of workplace progression reflect in part the
nature of the industries in which certain ethnic minority
groupsaretypicallyfound. 40 Sothefactthat52percentof
male Bangladeshi workers in Britain are in the restaurant
industry, and a similarly high proportion of Pakistani
workers are taxi drivers or chauffeurs, contrasts with the
relatively high proportion of Indian medical practitioners.
Thefirsttwooccupationsofferlittleornoopportunitiesfor
progression, whereas the reverse is true for the medical
profession. This fact will influence, in very different ways,
the career trajectories of Bangladeshi and Pakistani men on
theonehand,andIndiansontheother. 41
Age
Oneexplanationforthelownumberofethnicminoritiesin
senior management is that people in such positions tend to
be older. White groups have an older age structure than
otherethnicgroups,reflectingpastimmigrationandfertility
patterns. According to the 2001 Census, the UK has an
64
ageingpopulation.Takenasawhole,between1971and2003
the number of people aged 65 or over rose by 28 per cent
while the number of under16s fell by 18 per cent. 42 The
white Irish and white British groups had the oldest age
structuresofallin2001,withalmostoneinfouraged65or
over.
As the Equal Opportunities Commission has observed,
the relatively recent immigration patterns of some ethnic
minoritiesmeanthattheyarerelativelyyoung:forexample,
38 per cent of the Bangladeshi population were under 16,
doublethefigureforthewhitepopulation. 43 Asafunctionof
natural growth rates, the Strategy Unit has projected that
ethnic minorities will, between 1999 and 2009, account for
halfthegrowthintheworkingagepopulation. 44
Newcomerstatus
Some ethnic groups include newcomers to Britain, who are
likely to be at a disadvantage simply because the system is
unfamiliar. Race may in this respect be irrelevant, since
anyone arriving in a new country will find that many
thingssuch as the customs, laws, or the endless form
fillingtakesometimetogetusedto.Amongpeopleliving
in the UK, the proportion born in the UK varied markedly
by ethnic group. Other than the white British group, those
mostlikelytobebornintheUKwerepeoplefromthemixed
ethnicgroupandfromtheotherblackgroup,79percentin
each.Thisreflectstheiryoungeragestructure.Asubstantial
proportion of the other black group were young people
who were born in Britain and who chose to describe their
ethnicityasotherblackandwroteinblackBritishastheir
Censusanswer.BlackCaribbeanswerethenextmostlikely
group to be born in the UK. Among the nonwhite ethnic
groups, the older generations were less likely to have been
bornintheUK.Forexample,83percentofblackCaribbeans
65
aged25to34werebornintheUK,butonlyfivepercentof
thoseaged45to64werebornintheUK. 45
Language
The standard of a persons English is relevant to their
successinjobs.Ithasanimpactontheabilitytofilloutajob
application form, and people without good spoken and/or
written English are likely to find themselves at an initial
disadvantageininterviews.ThePolicyStudiesInstitute(PSI)
interviewedsamplegroupsinthemid1990sandfoundthat
91 per cent of African Asians had a good command of
English, compared with only 75 per cent of Bangladeshis
and76percentofChinese.Thefactisthatwhilesomeethnic
minorities have higher qualifications than white people,
some groups have significant groups who cannot speak
English. The PSI identified several factors, including sex,
ageonarrival,andtheproportionofonesownethnicgroup
in ones neighbourhood, that have a bearing on fluency in
English, and concluded, for example, that women of
Pakistani and Bangladeshi origin, aged between 45 and 64,
whohavebeenresidentintheUKlessthan25yearsandlive
in communities where more than ten per cent of residents
are from a similar background, are the least likely of all
ethnicminoritygroupstobefluentinEnglish. 46
Perhaps a more definitive and uptodate measure of
linguisticaptitudeistheoneemployedbytheHomeOffice.
It has found that in terms of educational attainment,
irrespective of ethnicity,all pupils with EAL [English as an
additionallanguage]performlesswellthanthosewhohave
English as their first language. There is a loose correlation
between EAL children and those likely to come from low
income families, but for some minority ethnic groups the
majority of pupils are registered EAL: over 90 per cent of
BangladeshiandPakistanipupils,82percentofIndians,75
66
per cent of Chinese and 65 per cent of black Africans. 47

Many,however,dowellinschooldespitethisdisadvantage.
Culturaldifferences
To what extent do cultural factors influence outcomes in
schools and workplaces across the country? Tariq Modood,
professor of sociology atthe University of Bristol, blurs the
boundariesbetweenafixedandunchangingascribedstatus
and a belief (chosen and open to challenge). He says that
there are colour/phenotype racisms and there are also
culturalracismsthatbuildoncolourasetofantagonistic
or demeaning stereotypes based on alleged or real cultural
traits.Themostimportantculturalracismtoday,hesays,is
Islamophobia. 48
TheAmericanwriterOrlandoPattersonhasexposedthe
inconsistencyofwriters whohavetriedtodelegitimisethe
importanceofculturebutonlywhenitsuitstheiragenda:
WhileAfroAmericanintellectualleaders,andallthosewhotakea
sympathetic interest in the plight of AfroAmericans, are quick to
point to cultural factors in the defence of AfroAmericans against
the onslaught of hereditarians, as well as nonracist conservatives,
these very same leaders are equally quick to traduce, in other
contexts,anyonewhodarestopointtothesubculturalproblemsof
the group in trying to explain their condition. It is now wholly
incorrectpoliticallyeventoutterthewordcultureasanexplanation
in any other context than counterattacks against hereditarians.
Indeed,sofarhasthispoliticallycorrectpositiongonethatitisnot
uncommon for people who even tentatively point to social and
cultural problems to be labelled and condemned as racists We
cannothaveitbothways.Ifcultureisamajorintellectualweapon
against the hereditarian racists, culture must contain the answers
as we seek to explain the skill gap, the competence gap, and the
wagegap,aswellasthepathologicalsocialsinkintowhichnearly
amillionAfroAmericanshavefallen. 49
Wheneverwespeakofraceasadistinctcharacteristicofa
person, it must involve some kind of genetic inheritance,
67
whereascultureisthehugeareaofhumanactivityvalues,
beliefs, customs, languages, habits, institutionsthat is not
genetically derived and has to be learnt. Anthropology has
long accepted that a human baby taken from any
communityandplacedinanyotheratanearlyagewilllearn
the language, customs, and mores of the new family,
regardlessofracialcharacteristics.Aliberalpoliticalculture
is something that can be learnt by anyone, which implies
that an individual can choose another culture. Those who
blurthedistinctionbetweenraceandculturetendtoassume
thatpoliticsisorshouldbeaboutpromotingtheinterestsof
different racial groups, since there is no chance of different
groups compromising by joining a common public culture.
This is something that sectarian collectivists have in
commonwithbloodandsoilracistsliketheNazis:theyare
hostiletoaconstitutionalsystembasedonasharedpolitical
culture, and want to replace it with a system based on
loyalty to racial or sectarian identity. Modood falls into
precisely this trap. He dismisses the argument of Trevor
PhillipsthatweshouldnurtureaBritishculturecommonto
all races. Referring to the key elements of the common
culture suggested by Phillipsthe rule of law, democracy
and fairnesshe only says, yes, these things are great but
weallknowtheycanmeanverydifferentthings.Democracy
isahighlycontestedterm. 50
Culturaldifferencesbetweengroupshaveanundoubted
bearingonhowlikelythemembersofdifferentgroupsare,
onaverage,tosucceedatschoolorintheworkplace.Asthe
Strategy Unit has acknowledged, the labour market
successes of the Indians and Chinese show that the old
picture of White success and ethnic minority under
performance is now out of date. 51 For in reality, there are
wide variations in the labour market achievements of
different minority groups. Indians and Chinese are, on
68
average, doing well and outperforming Whites in schools

andinthelabourmarket.Theirsuccessshowsthatthereare
no insuperable barriers to successful economic and social
integration. 52
Gender roles and family structure are among the most
importantfactors.
Gender roles: Gender differences reflect the culture of each
group. For example, there is an enormous gap between the
highest smoking group in society, Bangladeshi men (44 per
cent), and the lowest, Bangladeshi women (one per cent),
whichissuggestiveofthedifferentrolesplayedbymenand
womeninthatcommunity. 53 Suicideratesarealsorevealing.
Young South Asian women (the term is not differentiated
enough,butisallwehave),theFawcettSocietydiscovered,
areparticularlyatriskofcommittingsuicide,accountingfor
a proportion of suicides almost double their proportion in
thepopulation:Ithasbeensuggestedthatthesewomenare
likely to be experiencing problems which they do not feel
abletodiscusseitherwithinoroutsidethefamily. 54
By looking at the correlation between unemployment
rates and economic inactivity (those not available for work
and/or not actively seeking work), we see that Bangladeshi
andPakistaniwomenhadthehighestunemploymentrates;
but Bangladeshi and Pakistani women also had the highest
female economic inactivity rates at 77 per cent and 68 per
cent respectively. 55 When asked the main reason for not
being in the labour market, the Fawcett Society has found
that the majority of Pakistani and Bangladeshi women
repliedlookingafterthefamilyorhome. 56
However, girls in every ethnic group, on average,
performbetterthanboysatschool.Ineachethnicgroup,a
higherpercentageof16yearoldgirlsthanboysgainedfive
ormoreA*CpassesatGCSE.Whilst79percentofChinese
girls compared with 71 per cent of Chinese boys gained
69
these qualifications, giving a difference of eight percentage

points,forthelowestachievinggrouptherewasalargergap
of 15 percentage points between black Caribbean girls (40
per cent) and boys (25 per cent). 57 While in the white
population,thegenderdifferencesbetweenmenandwomen
havebeenattenuated,itwouldbehardtoarguethesamefor
blackCaribbeanmenandwomentheunemploymentrate
for men was high (15 per cent), the rate for women was
much lower (eight per cent). The same can be said of
Bangladeshi men and womenwomens employment was
very low at only 17 per cent, whilst nearly half of
Bangladeshimenwereinemployment. 58 Itmustbepossible
that the relative status of the sexes within ethnic minorities
may not have anything at all to do with discrimination by
themajoritywhitepopulation.
Family structure: There are differences in the types of
households different ethnic groups live in. Three quarters
(74 per cent) of Bangladeshi households contained at least
one dependent child in 2001. This was the highest
proportionforanyethnicgroupandwasnearlythreetimes
that of white British households (28 per cent). Households
headed by a Pakistani or Indian person were also more
likely than nonAsian households to contain at least one
dependentchild66percentofPakistaniand50percentof
Indianhouseholdsdidso.WhiteIrishhouseholdswereleast
likely to contain dependent children. 59 Almost one fifth of
BangladeshiwomenintheUKhavethreeormorechildren
under16,asdo16percentofPakistaniwomen,andnearly
ten per cent of black African women. For all other women,
including white women and black Caribbean women, the
figure is 34 per cent. 60 Asians were more likely to have
complex family structures, one measure of which is the
numberofhouseholdscontainingthreeormoreadultswith
orwithoutchildren.Suchhouseholdstructuresmakealarge
70
differencetotheabilityandwillingnessofmemberstowork
outside the family home. Some 17 per cent of white
households were of this type compared with 49 per cent of
thosefromPakistanorBangladesh. 61
Family breakdown has an impact on the ability to get
jobs.Notonlyistheabilityofwomentochoosetocombine
employmentandchildrearingasignificantissue, 62 itwould
notbeeasyforanyone,irrespectiveofbackground,towork,
for example, as a fulltime teacher or civil servant, while
beingaloneparent.At45percent,thelargestproportionof
oneparent families is found among Caribbeans, compared
with 21 per cent among whites and eight per cent among
SouthAsians. 63
Both Trevor Phillips and Tony Sewell of the Learning
Trust, which runs the London borough of Hackneys
education service, subscribe to a version of the cultural
deficit theory, which says that AfricanCaribbean boys
performbadlybecauseoftheirdomestic,socialandcultural
situation. 64 For Trevor Phillips, black children need role
modelsandideallyparents,especiallyfathers,shouldplaya
more active role in their childrens education. 65 Dr Sewell
hasagreedwithMrPhillipsthatblackmenneedtoplayan
active role in the upbringing of their sons, since once boys
hit puberty it is imperative that a father provides proper
boundariesandguidancetocounterunderachievement.As
DrSewellhaswritten,fortoolonginthefragmentedfamily
lives that prevail in black communities, a large number of
blackfathershavebeenallowedtoevadethisessentialduty
to their offspring. One central reason why Chinese and
Indianchildrengenerallycometopofschoolleaguetablesis
because they enjoy far more stable backgrounds than most
white and AfricanCaribbean children. It is, he goes on to
say,substantiallyasaconsequenceoftheabsenceofpaternal
71
rolemodelsthatyoungblackboysturntoganglandculture
forasenseofmaleidentity:
Through its imagery and the lyrics of rap music, it has helped to
create a nihilistic black youth culture that is antieducation and
antiachievement.Thereshouldbelittlesurprisethenthat,insome
classes, cleverness is not seen as cool. Successive ministers have
failedtoaddresstheseissues,preferringtohidebehindtheblanket
pledge to tackle institutionalised racism. This failure has been
disastrous. 66
Toclaimthattheoverorunderrepresentationofethnic
minorities must be caused by white discrimination is to
ignoretheimpactofalltheseculturalfactors.
72
Conclusions
So far I have argued that policies of preferential treatment

forgroupsareincompatiblewithBritainsheritageofliberal
democracy for three main reasons. First, because it
undermines the bedrock principle of liberalism, personal
responsibility grounded on the equal moral status of all.
Second, because it encourages majoritarian rather than
deliberative democracy. And third, because it infringes the
idealofequalitybeforethelaw.Butwhataretheunderlying
causes of politically mandated victimhood? Three can be
discerned: group selfinterest; misguided compassion; and
politicalauthoritarianism.
Is it right to think of victim groups as coalitions for the
advancement of their own interests at the expense of other
people? There have been, and are, real victims. American
blacks, in particular, were badly treated historically. Has
there been a multiplication of victims today because more
people can genuinely claim to be oppressed? A diligent
search produces little such evidence. And victim status
undeniably brings soughtafter advantages. Group self
interest includes not only material benefits but also
emotional pleasures such as righteous indignation and
exerting power over others. Demands to be able to subject
opponents to police action are perhaps the strongest
examplesofthelatter:Illgetthepoliceontoyouforsaying
that.Itmayalsobepossibletodemandcompensation;itcan
justify preferential treatment in the jobs market; and it can
put victims above criticism, a status especially useful to
peoplewhohavelaidthemselvesopentocounterargument.
But there is a difference between victim groups and old
fashionedpoliticalcoalitionsforadvancingprivateinterests.
Most such groups, including industry trade associations,
73
seek protection or preferential treatment through lobbying

andinformationcampaigns,buttheydonotclaimtobethe
victimsofanoppressor.Thislinkingofcallsforpreferential
political action in favour of victims at the expense of their
oppressors is a significant departure from normal interest
group lobbying because the sharp contrast between victim
andoppressordeepenssocialdivisions.
A second significant underlying cause of growing
modern victimhood is misguided compassionmisguided
because it neglects the harmful impact on the behaviour of
victims and the wider consequences for society. Some
people in society want to do good, partly reflecting their
sheer good intentions, but also an element of selfinterest.
Public recognition of concern brings emotional rewards,
which partly accounts for the prevalence of public displays
of compassion, such as wearing ribbons in sympathy with
thisorthatgroup.Insomecasessuchdisplayscanamount
toakindofpersonaltherapy.
NirpalSinghDhaliwalhasdescribedthewellintentioned
harminflictedbyteachersofblackandAsianboysatanall
boyscomprehensiveinEalinginthelate1980s.Hewasone
oftheboys:
Wed often get a freshfaced, idealistic teacher who had no doubt
read Marx and Malcolm X and done an elective in postcolonial
theory at polytechnic. We ate those suckers alive Desperate to
empathise with our persecution, they were knocked dead by our
indifference and rampant misbehaviour. At the first sniff of guilt
ridden middleclass weakness, the feral instincts of teenage boys
were unleashed and the class descended into anarchy. They
thought wed been crazed by oppression, so didnt want to come
downtoohardonus.Theywantedtounderstandinstead.Whenit
didgettoomuchforthemandtheythreatenedtomarchoneofus
totheheadmastersoffice,ourimmediateprotestwouldbe:Youre
aracist! 1
The boys despised the teachers who took the line that
ethnic minorities had been oppressed and who concluded
74
CONCLUSIONS
that wrongful behaviour in class should not, therefore, be

challenged. Dhaliwal goes on to say that the teachers they
respectedmostwerestrict,expectedthemtoworkhard,and
ignored ethnic status. The author speculates that there are
fewersuchteacherstodayandthatitisnormalforteachers
not to reprimand badly behaved black kids because they
sufferenoughoppressionasitis.
The French writer de Tocqueville noticed the rise of
misguided compassion as early as the 1830s. It happens
whenakindlypeoplebecomerich.Manypeopleflourished
under Britains free constitution, but some did not, and the
successful wanted to help the less fortunate. As a result,
when Britain was the wealthiest country in Europe in the
1830s,ithadthelargestnumberofpeopleonpoorrelief.In
the end this misguided concern did more harm than good
and reform of the poor laws followed, but the tendency
continuestothisday.
Notallrichcountrieshavereactedwithkindnesstowards
disadvantaged members of their society. There is
tremendouswealthinSaudiArabia,butonlyalittlereaches
thepoor,andsotooinRussia,wherewealthyoligarchsare
more noted for prestigious spending on Western football
clubs than for their philanthropy. But in Britain and other
Englishspeaking countries, the supply of compassion has
outstripped demandwe might say that there is a surplus
of successful people looking for compassion outlets. It is a
sign of the innate decency of the British people, but this
social concern can be exploited. At the time de Tocqueville
was writing about the poor law, and throughout the
nineteenth century, there was a virtual industry of people
whospecialisedinwritinglettersappealingfordonationsby
inspiringpity.Asaresult,thetermbegginglettertookon
the pejorative meaning that it retains today. In the
nineteenth century kindness could be exploited because
potentialdonorshadlittledirectknowledgeoftherecipients
75
of their charity. Modern efforts to seek victim status as a

groupappealtothesameculturaltradition,andrelyonthe
same lack of direct knowledge and its replacement by
sympathy,oftenatasafedistanceandwithoutthoughtfor
therealconsequences.
Ironically, in their anxiety to prove their hostility to
prejudice, especially racial prejudice, sympathisers end up
by increasing its importance. In this country there has long
been strong cultural disapproval of prejudice. We dislike
being judged by our origins or other ascribedcategory. We
liketobeseenforwhatwereallyare,notjudgedaccording
to some accident of birth. But paradoxically, despite the
outwardappearanceofhostilitytoprejudgementaccording
to ascribed status, victimhood asserts that group
membership is the primary identity of individuals. As
Dhaliwal showed earlier, the racially sensitive teachers of
Ealingweremoreguiltyofprejudgementandstereotyping
than the teachers who expected the whole class to work
hard,regardlessofrace.
To suggest roles for selfinterest and misguided
compassion is probably less controversial than accusing
someactivistsofauthoritarianism,bywhichImeanhostility
toliberaldemocracy.Isitnotpossiblethattheyhavefailed
torealisetheconsequencesoftheiractions?Perhapsso,but
if they persist in calling for the reassertion of group
identities and denying moral equality, and if they continue
to undermine the legal equality of all, even after the
consequences have been pointed out, we must credit them
withknowingwhattheyaredoing.Anearliergenerationof
socialistsmanagedtocombineademandforequaloutcomes
withanimositytomoralequality.Theircallsforequalisation
gavetheimpressionofconcernforthecommonperson,but
their realattitude was contempt. George BernardShaw, for
example, said in The Intelligent Womans Guide to Socialism
and Capitalism that For my part I hate the poor and look
76
CONCLUSIONS
forwardeagerlytotheirextermination.Ipitytherichalittle,
but I am equally bent on their extermination. All classes
includingtheworkingclasseshadnorighttolive:Ishould
despairifIdidnotknowthattheywillalldiepresently,and
thatthereisnoneedonearthwhytheyshouldbereplaced
by people like themselves. 2 He was an unashamed elitist,
and his attitudes did not die with him. No doubt there are
manynavechampionsofvictimgroupswhothinktheyare
simply being nice, but it is no coincidence that many
activists of the hard left who previously tried to inflame
class divisions have switched their attention to victim
groupsaspotentiallymorepromisingsourcesofhostilityto
liberalism. Their core belief is that they possess superior
insights into the human condition and, consequently, are
entitledtoimposetheirwillonothers.
Thereisspecialdangerinthevarietyofvictimhoodthat
demands equal respect for all group beliefs, as if none
threaten the foundations of liberal democracy. But some
beliefs, particularly Islamic precepts such as death for
apostates or the inferior legal status of women, are not
compatible with liberal democracy. If the core belief of
liberalism is moral equality, then it assumes autonomous
individuals guided by conscience and not merely obedient
toauthority.Itcontendsthatmoralchoiceisonlyworthyof
thenameifitisafreechoice,andthateveryone,ofanyrank,
must be considered capable of judging right from wrong.
ThisisverydifferentfromthewaythatIslamisunderstood
in many communities. According to a common inter
pretation of Islam, the first obligation is obedience. Many
Muslims say that no interpretation of the sacred texts is
permitted. Individuals can be punished for heretical
opinions. Membership of the group is not voluntary and
leaversmayreceivedeaththreats.Individualsarenotequal.
We urgently need to remind ourselves of the essential
features of liberty so that we can defend it against subtle
77
enemies.Libertymeanslivingunderequallawsintendedto
create the security to take personal responsibility for our
ownaffairs.Tobefreeistobeequalunderlawandtoenjoy
personalresponsibilitythechancetofollowyourownplan
oflife.Thefoundersofliberalismthoughttheywerefreeing
everyadmirablehumanmotivation.Andtheythoughtthey
were replacing the prejudice and bigotry that flourishes
when knowledge is controlled from on high with open
discussion to which anyone could contribute. They did not
think all opinions were equally worth hearing, but that
everyone should be heard so that the merits of their views
couldbejudgedimpartially.
Victimocracy, as we see it emerging today, is not
compatiblewitheitherlibertyordemocracy.
78
Notes
Introduction
1 Milton,J.,AreopagiticaandOtherPoliticalWritings,Indianapolis:
LibertyFund,1999,p.45.
2 DRC,DisabilityBriefing,June2005.
3 DTI,FairnessForAll:ANewCommissionforEqualityandHuman
Rights,Cm6185,May2004,p.14.
4 AnnualAbstractofStatistics2005,Table5.3.About22percentof
peopleofpensionagereportedalongtermhealthconditionor
chronicillness.LivinginBritain2000,GeneralHouseholdSurvey
2000,Table7.13.London:TSO,2001.
5 Wellings,K.,etal.,SexualBehaviourinBritain.London:Penguin,
1994.
6 www.stonewall.org.uk.Downloaded:2February2006.
7 DTI,FairnessForAll:ANewCommissionforEqualityandHuman
Rights,Cm6185,May2004,p.13.
1:Whymodernvictimhoodisnotcompatiblewithliberalism
1 Locke,J.,SecondTreatiseofGovernment,s.133.
2 SecondTreatise,s.22.
3 ForadiscussionofourlegalsystemseeScruton,R.,England:An
Elegy,London:Chatto&Windus,2000,Chapter6.
4 Locke,SecondTreatise,s.4.
5 Smith,A.,TheTheoryofMoralSentiments,Indianapolis:Liberty
Fund,1976,p.167.
6 TheoryofMoralSentiments,p.269.
7 Locke,SecondTreatise,s.22.
8 Milton,J.,SecondDefenceofthePeopleofEngland(1652)in
AreopagiticaandOtherPoliticalWritings,Indianapolis:LibertyFund,
1999
9 Blackstone,W.,CommentariesontheLawsofEngland,vol.3,p.4.
79
10Locke,SecondTreatise,s.13.
11Locke,SecondTreatise,s.6.
12Smith,TheoryofMoralSentiments,pp.7172.
13ForanexcellentdiscussionseeConway,D.,InDefenceoftheRealm.
Aldershot:Ashgate,2004.
14Miller,D.,OnNationality,Oxford:ClarendonPress,1995.
15Catholicsremainedundervariouslegaldisabilitiesuntil1829,but
didnotneedtofearforlifeandlimbfromtheGloriousRevolution
onwards.
16Duringtheseventeenthcenturybefore1688,JamesI,CharlesIand
theCommonwealthstruggledagainstCatholicsandProtestant
dissenters.DuringtheCommonwealthPuritansdestroyed
religiousartasEdwardVIhaddone,toeliminatewhattheysawas
physicaldistractionsfrompurityofheart.
17Dennis,N.andHalseyA.,EnglishEthicalSocialism.Oxford:
ClarendonPress,1988.
18SeebelowfordiscussionoftheMacphersonreport.
19Marcuse,quotedinDennis,N.,RacistMurderandPressureGroup
Politics,London:Civitas,2000,p.130.
20HorkheimerandAdorno,quotedinDennis,RacistMurder,p.130.
21Scruton,S.,EnglandandtheNeedforNations,London:Civitas,2006,
Chapter8.
22Steele,S.,TheContentofOurCharacter,NewYork:St.Martins
Press,1990.
23Ryan,W.,BlamingtheVictim,2ndEdn,NewYork:VintageBooks,
1976.
24Ryan,pp.28485.
25ThisisnotintendedtobeadescriptionofallIslamicsocieties.
Thereisconsiderablevariety,butitisadescriptionofsomesuch
societies,forthesakeofcomparison.
26EnglandisbitofamisfitbecausetheChurchofEnglandisthe
establishedchurchand,thereforebelongsinthepoliticaldomain.
80
NOTES
However,beingtheestablishedchurchhasverylittlepractical
significance,andiftheChurchofEnglandweredisestablished
tomorrow,fewpeoplewouldnotice.Turkey,whosepopulationis
overwhelminglyMuslim,isalsoanexceptionbecausethestateis
secular.However,inpracticetheTurkishgovernmentexerts
controloverreligiousleaderswhennecessary.
27Siedentop,DemocracyinEurope.NewYork:ColumbiaPress,2001,
p.191.
28Acton,J.,TheHistoryofFreedomandOtherEssays,London:
Macmillan,1907,p.52.
2:Impactondemocracy
1 Foranexcellentdiscussion,seeHolmes,S.,TheAnatomyof
Antiliberalism.Cambridge,Mass:HarvardUniversityPress,1993.
2 Independent,24January2006.
http://comment.independent.co.uk/letters/article340593.ece
3 Independent,30January2006.
4 http://www.stonewall.org.uk/cymru/english/look_out/
resources_for_journalists/dictionary_of_equality_language/455.asp
(Downloaded:7June2006).
5 Healy,G.etal.,AssessmentCentresforJudicialAppointmentsand
Diversity,ReportfortheDepartmentforConstitutionalAffairs,
March2006,p.54.
6 DailyMail,22April2006.
7 http://www.stonewall.org.uk/cymru/english/look_out/
resources_for_journalists/briefing_notes/471.asp(Downloaded:7
June2006).
8 http://www.stonewall.org.uk/information_bank/
history__lesbian__gay/89.asp(Downloaded:7June2006).
9 http://www.stonewall.org.uk/cymru/english/workplace/
642.asp(Downloaded:7June2006).
10DailyMail,8April2006.
81
11Guardian,2June2006.
12DTI,FairnessForAll:ANewCommissionforEqualityandHuman
Rights,Cm6185,May2004.
13Macpherson,W.,TheStephenLawrenceInquiry,Cm4262I,London:
TSO,1999,vol.1,p.28.
14Dennis,RacistMurderandPressureGroupPolitics,2000,p.140.
15Sowell,AppliedEconomics,NewYork:BasicBooks,2004,pp.17576.
16Sowell,AppliedEconomics,p.185.
17Bennion,F.A.R.,Newpolicelawabolishesthereasonableman
(andwoman),170JP(21January2006)27.
18Bruce,T.,TheDeathofRightandWrong,NewYork:ThreeRivers
Press,2003.
19See,forexample,Sowell,T.,CivilRights:RhetoricorReality?,New
York:Morrow,1984,pp.5053.
20Sowell,T.,PreferentialPolicies,NewYork:Morrow,1990,p.158
21Dennis,2000,p.131.
3:Victimstatusandlegalequality
1 RaceandtheCourts:AShortPracticalGuideforJudges,Judicial
StudiesBoard,1999.CitedinGreen,D.G.(ed.),InstitutionalRacism
andthePolice:FactorFiction?,London:Civitas,2000,p.38.
2 Sections2932.
3 S.146.Disabilitymeansanyphysicalormentalimpairment.
4 http://news.bbc.co.uk/newswatch/ukfs/hi/newsid_4730000/
newsid_4739300/4739389.stm
5 Anaccomplicereceived17years.
6 Bennion,F.A.R.,Newpolicelawabolishesthereasonableman
(andwoman),170JP(21January2006)27.
7 HisallegedinsultoftheWelshwasinvestigatedbythepolice:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/wales/5167090.stm
82
NOTES
8 SundayTimes,9April2006.
9 QuotedinBennion,2006,p.2.
10Bennion,2006,p.2.
11ACPO,HateCrime:DeliveringaQualityService,March2005,p.12.
12ACPO,2005,p.14.
13TheTimes,13January2006.Web:
http://www.timesonline.co.uk/article/0,,21982656,00.html
14ACPO,2005,p.11.
15Macpherson,1999,vol.1,pp.31314.
16DonoghuevStevenson[1932]AC562at619;quotedinBennion,
2006,p.1.
17DailyTelegraph,15May2002.
18http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk/1988776.stm
19Hume,D.,Essays,Moral,PoliticalandLiterary,Indianapolis:Liberty
Fund,1985,pp.6566.
20 Sowell,T.,AppliedEconomics,NewYork:BasicBooks,2004,p.187.
21CitedinBolick,C.,TheAffirmativeActionFraud,Washington:Cato
Institute,1996,p.46.
22Sowell,T.,CivilRights:RhetoricorReality?,NewYork:William
Morrow,1984,p.41.
23RaceEqualityUnit,RaceEqualityinPublicServices,London:Home
Office,2002,p.6.Hereafter:RaceEquality(2002).
24 ONS,EthnicGroupStatistics,pp.1617.
25Modood,T.,RacialEquality:Colour,CultureandJustice,London:
IPPR,1994,pp.1314.
26OBrien,M.,TheMacphersonReportandInstitutionalRacism,in
Green(2000),pp.3334.
27 Green,D.G.,RacialPreferencesAreNottheBestWaytoCreate
RacialHarmony,
http://www.civitas.org.uk/pubs/racialPreference.php
83
28 HomeOffice,RaceEquality:theHomeSecretarysEmploymentTargets,
sixthannualreport,March2006,p.6;RaceEqualityUnit,Race
Equality:TheHomeSecretarysEmploymentTargets,MilestoneReport
2004,London:HomeOffice,2005,p.iii.
31 StrategyUnit,EthnicMinoritiesandtheLabourMarket,London:
CabinetOffice,2003,p.27.Hereafter:EthnicMinoritiesandthe
LabourMarket.
32EthnicMinoritiesandtheLabourMarket,p.4.
33SundayTimes,2July2006.
34 DavidG.Green,LiberalAntiRacism,ProspectMagazine,October
2001.http://www.civitas.org.uk/pubs/prospectOct01.php
35Sowell,T.,CivilRights:RhetoricorReality?,NewYork:William
Morrow,1984,pp.5354.Hereafter:Sowell(1984).
36 Sowell(1984),pp.5456.
37Botcherby,S.andHurrell,K.,Ethnicminoritywomenandmen,
London:EqualOpportunitiesCommission,2004,p.4.Hereafter:
Ethnicminoritywomenandmen.
38 Summerfield,C.andGill,B.(eds),SocialTrends,No.35,London:
PalgraveMacmillan,2005,p.10.Hereafter:SocialTrends(2005).
39LabourForceSurvey,2002/03.Hereafter:LFS(2002/03).
http://www.statistics.gov.uk/cci/nugget.asp?id=463
41 EthnicMinoritiesandtheLabourMarket,p.24.
42 SocialTrends(2005),p.7.
43 Ethnicminoritywomenandmen,p.4.Infact,amongethnic
minorities,theMixedgrouphadtheyoungestagestructure,with
50percentundertheageof16.
84
NOTES
45ThisisfromtheOfficeforNationalStatistics,FocusonEthnicityand
Identity.
http://www.statistics.gov.uk/cci/nugget.asp?id=459
ThesourcesaretheAnnualLocalAreaLabourForceSurvey
2002/03;Census,2001,ONS;Census,2001,GeneralRegisterOffice
forScotland.
46 Modood,T.,Berthoud,R.etal.(eds),EthnicMinoritiesinBritain,
London:PolicyStudiesInstitute,1997.Hereafter:Modood(1997).
SeealsoEthnicMinoritiesinBritain,London:CommissionforRacial
Equality,1999,p.2.
47RaceEquality(2005),p.28.
48MulticulturalismorBritishness:afalsedebate,Connections,
Winter2004/05,p.9.ConnectionsistheQuarterlyJournalofthe
CommissionforRacialEquality.
49Patterson,O.,TheOrdealofIntegration:ProgressandResentmentin
AmericasRacialCrisis,NewYork:Civitas,1998,pp.14445.
50Modood,ConnectionsWinter2004/05,p.9.
53TheHealthSurveyforEngland,London:DepartmentforHealth,
1999.
54Fawcett,p.14.
55 LFS(2002/03).ONS:
http://www.statistics.gov.uk/cci/nugget.asp?id=462).SeealsoEmily
Brittain,etal.,BlackMinorityandEthnicWomenintheUK,London:
TheFawcettSociety,2005,p.18.Hereafter:Fawcett.
56Fawcett,pp.1920.
57 Ethnicminoritywomenandmen,p.1.
58Ethnicminoritywomenandmen,p.14.
59 SocialTrends(2005),pp.2122.
60Fawcett,p.4.
61Modood(1997),p.46.
85
62Fawcett,p.18.
63 Modood(1997),p.41.
64 Badattitudes,TheEconomist,12March2005,33.
65 CRESpokesmanonbehalfofTrevorPhillips,8March2005.
http://www.blackbritain.co.uk/news/details.aspx?i=1274&c=uk&h=
Black+boys+don%E2%80%99t+need+separate+classes
66TonySewell,DailyMail,8March2005.
4:Conclusions
1 SundayTimes,9April2006.
http://www.timesonline.co.uk/newspaper/0,,1762124987,00.html
2 Shaw,G.B.,TheIntelligentWomansGuidetoSocialismandCapitalism,
London:Constable,1928,p.456.
86

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Were(Nearly)AllVictimsNow!

Independence: The Institute for the Study of Civil Society

All publications are independently refereed. All the

We have all noticed that terms such as racism, sexism,

risky for children than adoption by a married couple, and

To be a victim is to be harmed by an external event or

than individual characteristics. This cuts into the foun

used to interest groups pressing their case as part of a

antidiscrimination laws have been gradually transformed

Religion and belief are also not straightforward. Nearly

How was the estimate of 109 per cent reached? 51 per

Britain are said to be disabled. 7 Eighteen per cent of the

law, a social invention. They knew only too well that

But why have I called the collectivists who advanced

love of country (patriotism) and hostility towards other

important than individual characteristics. And the common

familiar group wedded to the violent revolution of the

white proletariat had failed to fulfil the revolutionary

to replace the old rulers.For a time these doctrines became

survey of Human Accomplishment, civilisation has advanced

In America in the 1970s it became common to define

compatible with a mutually respectful moral community.

assumed to have superior knowledge without their claims

The individual freedom offered by liberalism was,

of a bishop or adhere to a faith as a conscious individual

transformation. It is taken for granted that no family or

by encouraging a selfserving approach to the political

hundreds of years to address a male chairman as Mr

Americans With Disabilities Act. The British government

ingly) are afraid of being accused of racism and bend over

The starting point for the Macpherson concept of

The important lesson is that we can avoid mistakes by

rational dispute, and are best kept outside politics. In the

intellectual positions she had earlier defended, has shown

By requiring the consent of Parliament, following open

Company successfully sued the rail workers union for

colourblind. And in order to emphasise the point, a list

What have these legal changes meant in practice? There

the police who told Ms Odone during a telephone

This plea for early intervention seems to explain the

hate crime, namely that facts do not matter. Ambiguity

Macpherson recommended replacement by a simpler

Of course, these days a judge would refer to the

told nitty gritty was thought to have been a term used to

Democracy has encouraged efforts to see the other

Given the willingness of the police leadership to allow

with their ethnic status. The most damaging change

Court, did just that and accepted that discrimination had

Much of the literature about public duties and targets is

targets by 2004. The Prison, Probation, UK Passport, and

representation were caused partly by factors under the

In that last sentence the authors of Ethnic Minorities in the

way every time. But affirmative action deals with averages

ethnic groups are concentrated in particular industries. In

per cent of Chinese and 65 per cent of black Africans. 47

average, doing well and outperforming Whites in schools

these qualifications, giving a difference of eight percentage

So far I have argued that policies of preferential treatment

seek protection or preferential treatment through lobbying